Supergirl : A New Home
by karazorel
Summary: Chronicles the destruction of Argo City and the inner turmoil that Kara must now battle in order to finally embrace Earth as her new home. The story is set 1 year after Kara last returned to Earth. Keeps within the Supergirl 1984 movie universe.
1. The House Of El

**DISCLAIMER:** Characters in this story remain the property of DC Comics, Inc. Movie copyrights and trademarks are owned by Alexander & Ilya Salkind, Warner Bros. Pictures, and TriStar Pictures. The story contained herein is meant only for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from the story. No infringement is intended. I offer this fan fiction as a tribute to the creative teams involved in the actual production of both the movie and comic. However, I reserve the right to any original characters I create for the purpose of fan fiction story telling.

**The House Of El **

In the darkness of inner space, Argo City stands in an almost crystal like dome surrounded by 4 power panes. But there is something different about the gleaming energy being emitted by the panels, it now lacks the strong glimmer and flashes of light that once radiated from the power mills of the city. While the remaining scientists tried to find other ways and means of keeping the city alive by adding power sources, Zor-El and Alura are preparing their only daughter Kara to deal with the prophecy that the elder sorcerer Zaltar had secretly entrusted to them before he banished himself to the Phantom Zone. The extent of this prophecy would have a life changing effect on Kara and the future of the city some of the residents called New Krypton.

*********

The Hall of Learning was the largest room in all of Argo City. Here, the history of Krypton and its people were kept in ancient crystal scrolls that they managed to escape with when their home planet of Krypton exploded. Although Jor-El had managed to store most of the crystals in his son Kal-el's spaceship when he was jettisoned to Earth, Zor-El collected those which were left behind and took it with him when Argo City detached from Krypton. Zor-El and Kara were now huddled over the crystals, carefully studying the contents of each one before placing it inside special blue and red boxes carrying the S emblem. The room had been sealed off from the rest of the population ever since the Omegahedron began showing diminished power output. Only the members of the House of El --- Zor-El, Alura, and Kara, were allowed to enter the hall ever since.

"Father, why do we have to pack all of the record crystals? Do the elders know we are doing this?" she asked as she sealed another container of crystals and carried it to the other boxes now lining the hall.

"Of course they know my child. Do you think we would be doing this without their approval?"

"I just find it strange that they would ask us to do this under such secrecy. They even have me attending special classes about Kryptonian history and science, I have taken so much notes in class that I feel like they want to turn me into a historian."

Zor-El looked up from the crystals laid out before him. He ran his hands through his daughter's hair with a visible sadness on his face.

"She is too young. This should not be happening to her." he thought to himself.

"Just remember everything that you are being taught is your family history, your heritage. You have to keep it alive within you."

At that moment, the heavy sliding door covering the entrace opened to reveal Alura carrying a tray of food and refreshments for her family.

"Time for a break Zor-El. Kara, put those crystals down and wash up. I brought some wet towels for both of you." she found a clear spot on the table that practically spanned the whole room and put down the tray.

"Finally! I am famished!" Kara put the crystal she was holding into a holder then joined her mother at the end of the table.

Zor-El seemed absent minded as the family shared the meal. He was pre-occupied with thoughts of how to best break the news of the prophecy to Kara. It had been over a year since Kara last went to Earth and it was probably much different from what she remembered. He would have to send her back there soon. He could only hope that sending her back after so long would prove to be the right thing to do in the end.

Sensing her husband's troubled thoughts, Alura signaled for him to join her at the boxes. Pretending to read the box tags, he asked her if she had heard anything more from the technicians at the power center.

"It does not look good Zor-El. They don't know how much longer they can keep it stable."

He looked away from the boxes, glancing in the direction of his daughter.

"I would do anything for Zaltar's prediction not to come true."

"You know there is no way to stop it. Zaltar paid for his mistake with his life. It is unfortunate that we must all be involved in the repercussions of his actions. I just pray that he is wrong. That most of us shall survive and can join Kara when she departs from here."

Zaltar's prophecy was known only to Alura, Zor-El, and the ranking elders of Argo city. His prediction was that due to the loss of the Omegahedron, an evil force shall come to possess the power ball and deplete its powers on many occasions. These events came to be true since Kara had previously done battle with the sorceress Selena on 2 occasions, the last one costing Selena her life.

The prophecy stated that at the end of the life cycle of the orb, all of Argo City shall be destroyed, the sole survivor of the catastrophe shall come from the House Of El. A prophecy that Alura and Zor-El took to mean that only Kara shall survive.

The exposure to black magic caused the once solely white magic possessed sphere to malfunction on many occasions since then. It had taken the full cooperation of the elders and vast amounts of white magic to bring the ball of power under control. Each time the ball malfunctioned, its power drained at an alarming rate. Argo City was a place living on borrowed time. It was only the capability of the elders to project and control illusions that prevented everyone else, including Kara from actually seeing the truth. Argo was a dying city and the time would come when the Omegahedron would finally destroy the city it once gave life to.

"We will have to tell her sometime Zor-El. We need to prepare her." Alura reminded her husband who was now busy realinging some boxes.

"Mother, father, come and eat with me." Kara signaled for her parents to join her at the table.

"Soon Alura. The time will eventually come. In the meantime, let our daughter remain innocent for as long as she can." he took his wife's hand and kissed it as he led her back to the table.

**********

Having retired to their family quarters for a night's rest, Kara was now alone with her thoughts as she sat on the corner of her bed with a box open before her. Before her were the mementos of her last visit to Earth. She smiled as she held up the blouse of her Frostee's unform. She remembered how Lucy Lane had helped her get the job and taught her how to cook hamburgers and fries. Jimmy Olsen had given her an old camera of his to take back with her to Argo City when he found out she was leaving. She never did get to use the camera. There was no need for such things on Argo City. The moving images of people were stored on the crystal sticks and viewed as wall projections whenever one wanted to. Kal-El had given her the communicator wand her father had used to contact him. All of these brought back wonderful memories of the people she had once called her friends on Earth. However, there was one bittersweet item in the box that always brought her near tears when she looked at it.

**********

Jimmy had taken a few pictures of her in the guise of Kara being held close by Ethan while they enjoyed a boat ride during the picnic in the park a day or so before Kara left for her home planet. Staring at the picture, she held it close to her heart as she closed her eyes, willing herself to relive the day the picture was taken. Opening her eyes and shaking away the tears, she picked up the picture of Ethan that Jimmy had taken at her request.

It was already late afternoon when she asked Jimmy to do her the favor. She and Lucy were busy putting away the picnic basket and they could hear the two men arguing over how Ethan should pose for the picture. Ethan had jumped onto the hood of Jimmy's car and pulled his leg up to balance himself. Jimmy was worried about his boots ruining the paint finish on the car. Ethan just wanted him to hurry up and take the shot.

The women had finished packing up the picnic basket and were on their way back to the car when Ethan suddenly looked up and saw Kara walking towards him, smiling and glowing. A look that he matched with his own beaming smile. She remembered it well. Jimmy had said "Hold that smile man." and took the picture that was now resting in her hands.

She wondered a lot about Ethan since she came back. Was he still waiting for her to return? Would she still be able to find her way back to him? Would he still love her? Or had another Jenna come his way and taken him away?

"Stop thinking like an insecure girlfriend!" she pretended that it was Ethan scolding her as she stared at the picture.

"I know you will wait for me." she told the image in the picture. After lovingly tracing the lips of Ethan in the picture, she placed it under her pillow, a practice she began upon her return to her parents home and then touched the wall behind her head to turn out the lights.

**********

Light years away from the inner space of Argo City, Ethan is working in the Midvale School for Girls grounds. As he rode the lawnmower across the Lacrosse field, Lucy called out to him and waved while she headed to her next class with a group of classmates. Waving back, he remembered how much he longed to be with Linda again. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the bracelet she had given him and touched the crystal in the middle to his lips, tracing it the way he remembered Linda do. When would he see her again?


	2. A Prophecy Fulfilled

**DISCLAIMER:** Characters in this story remain the property of DC Comics, Inc. Movie copyrights and trademarks are owned by Alexander & Ilya Salkind, Warner Bros. Pictures, and TriStar Pictures. The story contained herein is meant only for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from the story. No infringement is intended. I offer this fan fiction as a tribute to the creative teams involved in the actual production of both the movie and comic. However, I reserve the right to any original characters I create for the purpose of fan fiction story telling.

**Summary: **Chronicles the destruction of Argo City and the inner turmoil that Kara must now battle in order to finally embrace Earth as her new home. The story is set 1 year after Kara last returned to Earth.

**A Prophecy Fulfilled**

While everyone else in Kara's class spilled out of their makeshift classrooms after a day of rigorous classes had ended, she had to stay in the room and wait for her special lessons to begin. She really hated having to stay after class when she could already be at home, helping her family with the seemingly endless crystal packing, or even spending some time with her childhood friends in the commissary enjoying an after school snack and playing Kryptonian mind games. Kara never won the games because her sense of mental problem solving was simply too slow for an average Kryptonian. However, she observed that on Earth, she was one of the brightest in her class at the Midvale School For Girls.

She found her mind wandering towards her Earth adventures while her special tutor, Lai-La begun the lecture on the various Kryptonian elements that continued to exist after their city survived the destruction. There was a 3 dimensional rendition of Silver Kryptonite sitting on her desk which she absentmindedly poked. She was only half listening to the lecture.

"Silver Kryptonite has various effects on Kryptonians who have been exposed to the yellow sun. But the most disturbing effect is paranoia and psychosis that possess our kind once exposed to..." Lai-La noticed that her student's eyes were fighting sleep.

The sudden rapping on Kara's desk brought her out of her half sleeping state.

"Kara! Pay attention! Do not waste time!" Lai-La scolded her. She slammed the projector shut and glared at the erring student.

"I apologize. I am just so tired already." Kara yawned and stretched out.

"You don't have time to rest Kara. Time is of the essence in your lessons. We have so much to cover..."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why is time of the essence? Why do I need all these special lessons? There are more girls in my class who are better equipped to handle these sort of thing."

Unsure about how to properly answer the question, Lai-La thought it best to skirt the issue instead. Her instructions were clear, she was not to speak of the prophecy to the girl until the Elders and her parents determined that she was fully prepared to receive the news.

"You belong to a special breed Kara. The elders have agreed that you must be prepared to be the Secret Keeper of Kryptonian History."

"But isn't that what Kal-El's Fortress of Solitude is for?" she quizzed her tutor as she got out of her seat to walk around a bit and stretch her legs.

'Kal-El has some of the knowledge. You on the other hand, shall come to possess the remaining knowledge that , when combined with the others in his fortress, shall tell the complete story of a once noble race."

"You speak as if our race is going to be annihilated in the future." Kara replied with concern in her voice.

"No race can remain forever my child. We have been lucky to have found this home when Krypton was destroyed by indifference and power struggles. There is nothing permanent in any world."

"Don't say that!" Kara gathered her things and headed towards the door. "I am done for the day."

Lai-La did not try to stop her from leaving. Everyone knew that Kara had changed immensely during her last trip. She seemed to have a longing to be more human than Kryptonian. She often acted in ways that were uknown to them and was attributed to her exposure to human kind. This temper tantrum was one instance.

"Did you see that?" Lai-La turned to the wall behind her and addressed it directly.

Zor-El and the Council of Elders suddenly projected onto the wall.

"This cannot go on much longer Zor-El, you must talk to Kara as soon as possible. The child must be prepared and in full understanding of what is to come." Bang-Or insisted as the council members nodded their heads in agreement.

"It is not easy to tell Kara about what is to come. She has done so much to insure the survival of Argo City." he addressed the gathered members of the council.

"And now she must insure the survival of our species and the protection of a heritage. Tell her Zor-El. Do not defy this council." Bang-or ordered.

"In due time Bang-Or."

"You have been warned. We do not know how much longer we can keep the illusion alive. The sphere is already functioning at minimal power."

**********

The family sat in silence as they had their dinner. Kara somehow knew that she was in trouble and yet her father was not calling for any sort of disciplinary action after she stormed out of her class. He seemed to be very sad over the past few days. Ever since they started packing up the crystals. Even her mother seemed to be pre-occupied at times. She often saw her wiping away tears when she thought Kara was not looking. Whatever the problem was, she hoped that they would just come right out and say it, the way her human friends did.

The familiar hum of the omegahedron that filled the Argonian air suddenly stopped. The lights in the room visibly dimmed. Her parents looked at each other in fright as Kara wondered what the problem was. A city wide announcement came over the public address.

"We have lost power to the 4th and 3rd power panel. Adjust your power usage accordingly."

"Father, I know something is wrong. Lai-La said something during my class today. Please tell me how I can help."

He looked at her with confusion in his eyes. How do you tell your child that she is destined to live a life on a strange planet without the parents who raised her and gave her the love and care that made her the strong young woman she now was?

Men suddenly appeared at the door of their unit. Using a security pass to open their private door, they were the dressed as the Sphere Guardians. What would they want with the El's at this time of the night?

"Zor-El, your presence is required at the chamber, bring Kara with you."

"What? Why ? The Elders have never asked to see me before." Kara wondered aloud. She gripped her fathers hand, her sense of fear running through him.

"Come with me child. Everything will be alright. We will be back shortly Alura." He assured his wife and child as he led the way.

**********

The Chamber of Elders reminded Kara of the Fortress of Solitude. It was all white and had no real seats to speak of. Merely large boulders fashioned out of the sides of the cave like room. The Elders were in discussion when they arrived.

"Zor-El, there is nothing more we can do. Panes 3 and 4 have died while 1 and 2 only has enough power to last us another day. You must send Kara on her way." Bang-Or reiterated.

"Wait... wait... panes dying? Power for one day? Where am I to go? Father, what is going on?" the fear and confusion could be heard in her voice.

"Have you not told her yet? What have you been doing all this time? " Bang-Or addressed Zor-El directly.

Zor-El placed his hands on the back of his head. He threw his head back and raised his hands in defeat.

"This was not how I wanted Kara to find out." He pleaded with the council.

"Time is of the essence." a voice from another elder reminded him.

"I realize that! But my daughter is not prepared..."

"She will have Kal-El to guide her."

Kara looked around in bewilderment.

"Time, Kal-El..." It sounded like she was going to be sent on a mission to Earth. A very delicate mission to Earth.

"Father, just tell me." she tried to sound calm as she stood up and approached the makeshift council table.

"Kara, the sphere is no longer able to sustain life." Bang-Or began

"Bang-Or! Stop!" Zor-El screamed in anger.

"You have left the council with no choice. Her ship is being prepared as we speak."

"My ship? What? Father, please! Just tell me!"

"Tell her Zor-El!"

He looked at the council, his eyes filled with defeat and brimming with tears.

"Kara, " he began, choking on his words as he spoke. " Before Zaltar... went to the Phantom Zone... before he... died, he left us with a prophecy about the Omegahedron. One that is now seeing fruition."

"Please father, be honest. Tell me the truth."

"The prophecy stated," he continued. " that the sphere shall fall into evil hands that shall drain it of its ability to sustain life and all that is good. It shall be the destruction of Argo City."

"No! That's not true!" Kara cried out hugging her father.

"It is true my child." he kissed her cheek. "Even though we cannot prevent the destruction, Zaltar had given us enough time and warning to know that you, Kara, my child, will be the one chosen to survive the chaos and death. But in order to survive, we must send you to Earth."

"Earth?" the dawning of a new understanding hit her. "The visit, the battle with Selena, the learning of the human ways, my extra lessons..."

"All preparations for your eventual departure." Bang-Or stated with sadness in his voice.

"You and Kal-El shall be the last children of Krypton. There shall be none more to follow. However, we feel that regardless of how the two of you shall live your human lives, you must somehow impart Kryptonian knowledge upon your future heirs. Within their hearts Krypton and Argo City shall live on."

"Wait? You said there is time, one day. We can still..."

"We have tried to keep the illusion alive for as long as we can Kara. It is time to accept our destinies." Another elder explained.

"What is the true state of Argo City?" she asked.

"Look at the wall." she was told.

Before her she saw the panels outside the dome. 2 were already dimmed of lights and the remaining 2 were flickering against the darkness. Kara suddenly sensed what she did not feel before. The air in the room had changed. It was thin. Almost unbreathable. She started taking shallow breaths.

"This can't be happening." she said trying to deny the truth that was now before her. The room was no longer as white as she first thought. Her father seemed much older and looked tired. The temperature in the room was now freezing cold.

Breaking away from her father, she tried to leave the room. This was not happening. She had to go home, go to her mother. She would make everything alright. She would tell her this was all a bad joke her friends were playing on her.

Her mother was standing outside the door when it slid open. The look on Kara's face confirmed her worst fears.

"You know." she cried.

"Mother, tell me it isn't true. Tell me I can save the city."

"Zaltar has never been wrong my child."

Bang-Or and Zor-El were at their side and leading the way to the power source center. The Elders were now too tired to continue the charade. People were beginning to walk around excitedly, wondering about what was going on. Why had the power suddenly been cut off? Why was the air thinning? All questions that they knew the answer to but could not bring themselves to tell them.

***********

The sphere was now one thousand times larger than Kara remembered it to be. It seemed to want to break free of the constraints that stopped it from slamming into the walls of the room it was held in.

Due to its enormous size, the Elders had to create a special holding room that would allow it to spin freely inside while growing in size, but still be viewable to the people who strove to control it.

"When it explodes, everything is over Kara." Bang-Or explained.

"But I don't understand. Why can't we cure it? You said you used the magic before." She tried to understand all the information that Bang-or and her parents were flooding her with.

"Selena harmed the sphere Kara. When she bound herself to it, used it for evil, she unleashed the most evil element of Kryptonian nature within Omegahedron." Zor-El explained.

"What element?"

"Red and Silver Kryptonite. The selfish and evil flames has kept the orb balanced with the white magic that we hoped would power the sphere for many decades to come." Alura explained.

"So you are telling me...?"

"Kara, you are the chosen one. Just as Kal-El was the chosen one from Kyrpton. Zaltar had said that the one to survive shall be the woman from the House of El who shall have seen the power of the yellow sun upon her being." Her father finally finished telling her all that the prophecy contained. There was no mistaking Kara's fate and destiny anymore..

"But the children..." Kara sadly emphasized.

"Once exposed to the Red and Silver Kryptonite, everyone here, shall fall prey to the same power struggle and psychosis that destroyed Krypton."

"I won't let that happen to you. Come with me!" she begged her parents.

"Enough! You will gather her things and meet me at the binary chute." Bang-Or ordered.

**********

The hyper speed whirling of the sphere was now strongly felt throughout Argo City. People were running in panic. Not really understanding what was going on. As the family ran back to their quarters, they saw people dropping like flies as their systems could no longer process the air that surrounded them. Areas of the city were now covered in complete darkness. There was no power in their home either.

"Bang-Or shall take care of packing the crystals into the ship. Take only what is necessary Kara." her father advised her.

Her parents busied themselves putting together what momentos the could of their family for Kara to treasure them by.

Taking her souvenir box from under the bed, she could not bring herself to join her parents in the main room. Exactly how does a child deal with her parents declaration that they are willing to die so that she can live? What use was living if she had no family? There was no sense in returning to Earth.

"Father, mother, I am not going. I shall stay right here with you and accept the inevitable with the you and the others." she begged them.

"Kara! Now is not the time!" He carried her over his shoulders and carried her out the door.

"No father! Please! Let me stay!" she begged as she tried to squirm out of his grip.

"Zor-El! You are hurting her!" Alura blocked him from getting out the door.

He set Kara down on the floor. Tears streaming down her face. Her eyes pleading for understanding. Turning to his wife, he saw the same look.

"My child! My child! I am so sorry! Forgive me!" he hugged her tightly. Alura came over and hugged her family as well.

"You must live Kara." Alura pleaded with her daughter. "You will not be alone. Kal-El will always be your family. We will always be with you, in your heart and mind."

"Oh mother!"

Nobody noticed the guards show up at the very door they were standing at.

"Is Kara ready?"

With her parents eyes upon her, she nodded weakly. If this was their dying wish, she would honor it with the strength and maturity that is expected from a descendant of the House Of El.

**********

The ship was ready to depart when they arrived at the binary chute. This ship was bigger than the last one she used and tightly packed with the crystal boxes. Kara never realized there were that many boxes in the hall.

"Always remember who you are and where you came from Kara." Alura whispered to her daughter as they hugged for the last time.

"Mother..." her voice broke as she fought back the tears.

"Listen to Kal-El Kara. He is your family now. He will care for you. Give him this crystal, it will explain everything to him." Zor-El handed Kara a greenish gold crystal that held the story of Argo City for Kal-El to understand.

The dome ceiling suddenly shuddered and produced cracks. It was going to explode any minute.

"Hurry!" Bang-Or ordered, pulling her parents away from the loading dock so Kara would be forced to board the ship.

"We will try to hold the city steady long enough to get you into the pathway. Once inside, the path will implode behind you. There is no coming back. Do not even try."

"Go Kara!" her parents ordered her in unison.

She turned and boarded the ship. Floating almost immediately into the chute path, the dome began to cave in. The prophecy had begun.

**********

Nobody could explain why pond was suddenly frozen over. The weather change happened suddenly that morning. The temperature in the down dropped to below freezing. Everyone in MIdvale was bundled up in winter clothes in the middle of Spring. It was now the middle of the night and the only beings at the lake were the rabbits, deers, and other animals that were seeking shelter from the cold.

At the same time that the Omegahedron exploded in Argo City, Kara's ship burst through the pond packed solidly in something that looked like powdered, sticky snow. The impact of the ship on the ice covered pond sent the ice crystals flying upward, reaching into the sky as the Kara tried to control the ship that was now flying crazily through the dark skyline.

Snow began to fall over Midvale as the remnants of Argo city and the Omegahedron blew up into the sky. Immediately condensing, it froze Red and Silver Kryptonite within its molecules that fell to the instantly into a water upon hitting anything solid. A concentration of the rocks fell around the pond grounds, the rest burned up upon hitting the trees and other rock forms in the forest due to the sudden changes in temperature. Had the town not been asleep, the residents would have witnessed an inexplicable weather change and fireworks display.

Crashing through an abandoned farming field, the ship burst into flames, melting the snow around it. Kara was thrown out of the ship and lay unconsciously in a puddle not far from the flame ridden ship.

She awoke moments later, dazed but in full control of her senses, seeing the chaos around her, she screamed in desperation. Realizing that her parents and everything she held dearest to her were now gone. She was alone. The last of her kind.

"What now Kara? Where do you go?" she asked herself.

The answer was clear. There was only person on Earth who knew how to make her feel safe and secure. He would know what to do.

Without donning her alter ego suit, she took off with only one destination in mind.

**********

Ethan tried to get warm under the covers as he prepared to sleep. Keeping the school grounds well manicured always left him exhausted. Lucy often asked him why he kept his contract live with them when it was almost impossible for him to tend to the grounds alone. They both knew the answer to that question. He felt closest to Linda at the school, knowing that this was the first place she called home on Earth. He was always frequenting the places that reminded him of her. Hoping that one day, she would surprise him the way she had done at Frostee's.

He almost failed to notice the faint glow coming from the bracelet on his night table. Realizing that it never glowed for him until that night, he felt an excitement at the thought that maybe, just maybe, Linda was back. How did it work again? The closer the Kryptonian, the brighter the glow. Well then, this glow was beginning to blind him. Maybe, just maybe...?

He followed the glow as it began to hum and the blue and red bands began to glow. Reaching his front door, he opened it and looked out into the dark night.

"Ethan..." he seemed to hear a faint female voice calling him.

"Linda?" he asked.

No answer. He closed the door and decided that the bracelet must be acting up. But the voice seemed real. He treturned to bed and ried to sleep but the bracelet was still emmiting all sorts of sounds and the lights would not turn off.

Getting out of bed and grabbing his jacket, he headed out the door. Maybe a quick jog would get his body warm enough to fall asleep and ignore the bracelet.

He heard a rustling sound in the bushes near the compound exit.

"Ethan I'm here..." There was simply no mistaking that voice he so longed to hear.

Prying the bushes apart, he finally saw her, wearing the dirtied customary white gown of Kryptonian women that signified her coming of age in Kryptonian society. She was floating slightly above the bush in order to see him. He wondered where the familiar costume she once told him were her clothes were.

"Linda! I mean Kara! I mean..." He called out to her, slightly confused as to what to really call her in his excitement.

She landed softly in front of him and without either of them thinking, fell into each other's arms, sharing the sweetest kiss they had ever experienced till then.

At that moment Kara knew, she was loved and safe for the moment.


	3. The Reunion

**DISCLAIMER:** Characters in this story remain the property of DC Comics, Inc. Movie copyrights and trademarks are owned by Alexander & Ilya Salkind, Warner Bros. Pictures, and TriStar Pictures. The story contained herein is meant only for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from the story. No infringement is intended. I offer this fan fiction as a tribute to the creative teams involved in the actual production of both the movie and comic. However, I reserve the right to any original characters I create for the purpose of fan fiction story telling.

**The Reunion**

Ethan tasted the tears on her lips as they kissed. As they slowly parted, he noted her wet cheeks and a look in her blue eyes that he had never seen before. This was not the same Kara who left him a year ago. Something had changed.

Her body was shaking in his arms. Something that he knew was not normal since the freezing temperature of Superman's fortress did not bother her at all. He wrapped an arm around her and led her up to his apartment. She seemed so weak, defeated, lonely.

**********

"Drink this..." he handed her a hot cup of cocoa to warm her up.

"Linda, call me Linda. Kara is no more." her tears began to build up inside again.

"What are you talking about?" Ethan wondered aloud as he sat beside her on the couch.

"Kara is from Argo City. Argo City is gone. Destroyed. The only home I have ever known is gone. My parents are dead." she said fighting away the emotions that threatened to surface as tears as she stared into the cup.

He pulled her closer to him and hugged her.

"You have a home here with me Linda."

"I know Ethan. I feel safe with you. I feel loved." His loving arms seemed to encourage her to let go of her emotions. He wiped away her tears with his handkerchief and lay her head on his shoulder.

"Then you will stay with me?" he asked hopefully.

"Stay with you on Earth? Yes. But I will live with Kal-El, it was my parent's dying wish." she wiped her wet cheeks with the palm of her hand.

He smiled brightly at her. That was a good enough answer for him. He knew what it was like to lose parents, having lost his when he was in high school. They died in a plane crash and left the gardening business to him. He needed to make the business work and his education was sacrificed. He still hoped to go back to school one day.

Sleep finally came over her. She yawned as she placed the empty cup on the coffee table.

"You better get some sleep now. We can talk in the morning. Take the bed." He pointed towards the pull out bed he had set up against the wall in his studio apartment.

"Where will you sleep?" she asked him wondering if he would be sleeping next to her.

He patted the couch that they were sitting on. "This is pretty comfortable." he smiled at her.

**********

Linda was still asleep when Ethan called Lucy to come over to his place. He knew that she would be thrilled to have her best friend back. There was also this gut feeling that told him Linda would need a woman to talk to.

"Hi Mrs. Lane. May I please speak to Lucy?" he whispered into the receiver.

"Lucy, it's Ethan." he heard her call for her daughter.

"Ethan, it's Saturday morning. Have you ever heard of sleeping in?" Lucy scolded him as they heard her mother put the extension phone down with a click.

"I know, but I have some great news. How soon can you get here?" he whispered as he watched Linda stir in bed. She had been fitful all night and barely let him sleep with her soft crying. He wondered if she slept at all.

"Two hours." Lucy was being sarcastic.

"Make it two minutes. And Lucy, bring some breakfast for 3."

"First of all, who do you think I am? Kara? I don't fly. Second of all, you will owe me for breakfast. And lastly, who is the third person? "

"Just get here." he insisted before putting the phone down.

**********

Lucy climbed the stairs to Ethan's 2nd floor apartment with an armful of Frostee's breakfast meals. She was mumbling about having to get up on such a wet day. Little did she know about the midnight snowfall courtesy of Kara's return. The snow was now just slosh in the streets and everybody who was up that early was wading through semi-flooded streets.

"It's supposed to be Spring!" she mumbled miserably as she pressed the doorbell.

Nobody opened the door.

"Ethan! It's Lucy!" she hollered.

She heard an excited thud from within. Linda had jumped out of bed a bit too heavily upon hearing her friend's name.

"Great! He probably tripped over something." she thought to herself.

"Lucy!" Linda excitedly opened the door and took the bags from her best friends hands.

"Oh my god! Linda!" she squealed in delight running into the room.

After minutes of hugging and loud voices, Ethan, who had been standing by the kitchen entry watching the two women cleared his throat.

"How about continuing the reunion over breakfast?" he asked them as he set out the food on the coffee table. His apartment was so small that his coffee table doubled as a dining table for when he had guests.

After they had finally settled down, Linda told Lucy all about why she was back on Earth. Lucy immediately suggested contacting Superman. They were in luck she said, Lois was staying with the family and Clark was with her. They both knew how to contact Superman. Lucy stopped talking and stared at Kara, as if remembering something for the first time.

"It can't be... but that is the only logical... Clark is Kal-El isn't he?" she waited for her friend to confirm what should have been painfully obvious to her one year ago.

Kara simply nodded her head.

"I bet Lois knows." Lucy thought aloud, a bit annoyed at the possiblity that her sister had kept a huge secret from her.

"So, where will you be staying in the meantime? Mom and dad would love to have you over again if you haven't got a place." she asked Linda between bites of her sandwich.

Linda looked over at Ethan. He nodded at her. He was not going to push her to do anything she did not want to do. At least not at this time.

"I'd love to come over for a few days." she answered.

"Well, I'll only be at home until Sunday. We should get you enrolled at Midvale School again." she suggested while dipping her pickle into catsup.

"But, I never finished the last term..."

"Don't worry about that. I'll have my dad ask Principal Danvers to give you an equivalency exam. We can both be Seniors! You'll love the dance!" Lucy enticed her friend.

"I'm not sure. Have to ask Kal-El..."

"He will say yes even if Lois has to force it out of him." Lucy assured her.

**********

The familiar truck of Ethan drove onto the abandoned farm where the ship had crash landed. The remnants of the ship were still smoldering as they approached. The boxes of crystals were nowhere to be found.

"Oh no! Where is it?" Kara wailed as she started to dig into the hot ground.

"Woah!" Stop it Linda!" Ethan pulled her back in a panic, forgetting that the extreme heat could do not physically hurt her.

"The crystals! My parents entrusted it to me!"

"What crystals?" Lucy wanted to know.

"My heritage. Those crystals are my responsibility."

"I have them Kara." they all turned to see Kal-El landing behind them.

"Kal-El!" she ran to her cousin and hugged him, crying once again.

"I know Kara. I found the crystal." his voice cracked as he acknowledged the fate of his last remaining relatives.

"Did you..?"

"The crystals are safe in the fortress." he assured her.

"Uh, excuse me, Superman... how did you know?" Ethan asked him trying to avoid standing too close to the Man of Steel.

"The weather disturbance. I was trying to find the source. When I saw the burning ship and Kara was not in it, I knew she would go to her friends since she did not know where to find me. That is why I came back today. I knew she would come back here with you guys for the crystals." he explained.

Lucy and Ethan stayed in the truck while Superman and Linda, who had now changed into her alter ego outfit, worked together to bury the remnants of the spaceship so deep into the earth that the two who were watching thought dinosaur bones would be unearthed.

"Can the three of you be at the Lane's for the barbecue this afternoon?" Kal-El asked. Kara had told him that Lucy already figured out his alter ego.

"I'll bring Linda, I mean Kara, this is going to get confusing." Ethan laughed at himself for not figuring out what to call his girlfriend.

"You can bring Linda over with you at 3." Lucy solved his problem for him.

**********

"The gang's all here!" Jimmy announced when Linda and Ethan finally showed up at the poolside of the Lane home. He threw a beer at Ethan which he caught with both hands.

"Linda, get over here, I want you to meet Lois." Lucy tugged on her friend's arm so that she would let go of Ethan.

"Go on Linda. I'll shoot some pool with Jimmy." he encouraged her. She had been so sad since they got back from the farm that he knew she needed this get-together more than he did. This was simply his way of taking care of her.

Lois was busy mixing drinks at the mini-bar. She was dressed really casually now that the weather had finally returned to normal springtime temperature. Aside from an early morning news report about the sudden weather change, it seems nobody knew about the snow fall. Kara and Kal-El preferred it that way as well.

"This is my best friend in all of Midvale." Lucy introduced Linda to Lois.

"Hi. I heard you are Clark's cousin." Lois started on the small talk.

"Cut it sis. we both know who Clark really is." Lucy winked at her sister.

"Then don't let the whole world hear you." she warned the younger Lane.

"Speaking of which, where is he?" Linda asked.

"You know your cousin, there is always something that needs fixing in in some part of the world..."

"The world can always use extra supers." Clark whispered to Lois, planting a kiss on her cheek. Somehow they all knew that the gentle breeze that passed overhead was him.

Since Lois figured out his secret, their relationship both as work and love partners had been easier for them to handle. With the addition of Kara, Clark would finally get the family and grounding that the Lane's offered him a little of.

"Lunch is served!" Mr. Lane announced as he got the last steak off the grill. Mrs. Lane had also walked into the area with some freshly boiled sweet corn.

"Everybody move to the table." Mrs. Lane announced as she set down the platter.

**********

"I was planning to enroll Linda at the school for girls. She already started a term there but she had to pull out." Clark replied when Mr. Lane asked him what his plans were for his cousin.

"But Linda is too bright to be a junior. She should be a Senior in my class. I can't have my best friend in the subordinate level at the dorm." Lucy complained.

"The principal owes me a few favors. Let me see what I can do." Her father told her.

"Thanks Dad!"

"So Linda, where are you staying at the moment? Clark lives in Metropolis but you've always seemed to be a Midvale girl to me."

"I spent the night at Ethan's." she answered truthfully.

The older Lanes looked at her in shock. She did not know why. There was nothing wrong with what she said. If they had asked her, she would have told them about the separate beds. Kryptonian women never slept in the same bed as their mate until after they were bound by the laws of science and the land.

"Seperate rooms. We don't do that. We made a promise to each other. Not till after we are married." Ethan assured them as he took Linda's hand under the table and held it from where she sat beside him.

He meant what he said. He was never going to pressure this delicate young woman into anything she did not want to do. Not because he feared what she could do to him, but because he respected everything about her, and that included honoring her Kryptonian heritage as he slowly learned about it.

"Nice to hear the young ones talk with conviction about avoiding pre-marital sex." Mrs. Lane responded as she passed the corn tray to her husband. She was not sure if she believe them but if Linda was anything like Clark, she was not going to do anything that she might eventually regret.

"In the meantime, Linda can stay with us." Mr. Lane sounded like he was giving an order instead of offering a favor to Clark.

"I would like that." Linda smiled.

"We can all sleep in Lois' room until she leaves on Monday. It'll be like a sleep-over." Lucy told her excitedly.

**********

"Kara, walk with me." Kal-El told his cousin after the family had retired to the house for some dessert.

"What is it cousin?" she asked him as they sat on the edge of the pool and dipped their feet in.

"I wanted to give you this. I found it amongst the ruins." he produced the box that her parents had packed for her from his pants pocket.

The box that was the size of a ring box expanded once she held it in her hands. The top had the emblem of the House Of El and opened after Kara passed the hand biometric scan.

"It's what's left of our ancestors." she tried to blink away her tears.

Kal-El took the box from her and looked at the contents. This is what the once mighty Kryptonian race had been reduced to. A box full of S emblem souveniers. Nothing that made

sense to Kal-El since everything was written in Kryptonian symbols.

She opened mini box using a biometric scan of her hand."This is a lock of my childhood hair." she took out the sealed silver see-through container that held her brownish hair to show him.

"These are the crystal plates of our family tree. You can see these better at the fortress. It expands when you place it on the proper crystal."

She looked at Kal-El with sadness in her eyes.

"Do you want me to keep it at the fortress for you?" he asked.

"Please." Kara replied.

**********

The week-end passed so fast for the 3 young women. Lois and Lucy took turns giving Linda a make-over. Lucy also helped her get her old job at Frostee's back. Dean still rememebered Linda as his most efficient employee before she disappeared on him. She made a promise that she would not up and leave without telling him this time before he finally agreed to hire her back.

"Now that we are workmates, the only thing left is to become room mates again at Midvale. I have a single again this year. But I would gladly bump it up to a double for my best friend." Lucy told her as the 3 girls had a snack in the food court after a day of shopping.

"She has to pass the equivalency first. " Lois pointed out.

"That's nothing. Ask her how many people will exist in America by the year 2010." Lucy bragged remembering the question that Linda had effortlessly answered in computer class when they were Sophomores.

"Sorry Linda, Lucy has always wanted a baby sister, I guess you are it." They all laughed at Lois' statement.


	4. Starting Anew

**DISCLAIMER:** Characters in this story remain the property of DC Comics, Inc. Movie copyrights and trademarks are owned by Alexander & Ilya Salkind, Warner Bros. Pictures, and TriStar Pictures. The story contained herein is meant only for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from the story. No infringement is intended. I offer this fan fiction as a tribute to the creative teams involved in the actual production of both the movie and comic. However, I reserve the right to any original characters I create for the purpose of fan fiction story telling.

**Starting Anew**

Clark and Mr. Lane were both at the school that Monday to help plead Linda's case with Principal Danvers. Since Linda had abruptly left the school previously, she was considered to have been dropped and black listed from the school roster. Sitting in his office, the 3 men seemed to be at a stalemate.

"There is absolutely no way I can let her back in after the last time. She never completed any of her assigned work and she escaped from the school as well. She is a rebel and has no place in our upstanding educational system." the principal stated resolutely as Clark and Mr. Lane took turns presenting their case for Linda's re-admittance.

"Linda is not a rebel Mr. Danvers. I already explained to you that I had to pull her out at that time for family matters. You know her parents had just died at the time and I needed her help in getting their affairs in order. I am sorry for not being able to formally inform you. Everything happened so suddenly." Clark explained.

"Mr. Kent, I understand that perfectly well. If I were not bound by the school regulations, I would probably have agreed to let her back in. But it is too late in the term to admit her..."

"We aren't asking you to bend any rules that can't be bent Fred. You did it once for Linda, why can't you do it again? You'd do it for any other girl who took leave from school mid-term as well." Mr. Lane prodded his friend.

"She is a really bright girl. You just have to give her a chance." Clark added.

**********

Linda was sitting outside the office trying not to use her super hearing to hear the conversation inside. She was not really sure if boarding school was the right place for her to be at the moment. She longed for a chance to properly grieve for her parents. It made her wonder how humans dealt with matters of death. If she were in Argo City, there would be a day of city-wide mourning. Since everybody knew each other, the grief caused by death was something that everyone shared and dealt with openly. It was okay to cry out in the open, something she was embarassed to do on Earth because of her unfamiliarity with the social norms. She would probably be organizing the transfer of her parent's Crystals of Knowledge to the Hall Of Learning by this time. Indeed, she knew everything about grieving the Kryptonian way, but how was it done on this planet?

A shrill sound permeated the air as students began to fill the corridors. It was time for morning break. She hoped that Lucy would be able to make it to the office for a few minutes so she could have some company. She felt so alone and uncomfortable as the secretary stared at her for some reason.

"Not you two again... What did you do this time?" she heard the woman whine as two girls entered the room.

Linda recognized them instantly. Myra and Muffy were standing in the room chewing gum and trying to look tough as usual. Of course their tough girl act had no effect on Linda who had already taught them a lesson the first time they tried to bully her. They were going to scald the girls who were taking a shower after a La Crosse game but thanks to Kara's super hearing, x-ray vision, and heat vision, they got the hot shower of their lives instead.

"What are you doing back here runt?" Myra practically growled her words at Linda.

"I have no problem with you. Please Myra, leave me alone." she turned her back to them from her seat so as to avoid any altercations. She did not see the two girls start to whisper behind her back.

Lucy came bouncing into the room at that very moment. She saw the two other girls but chose to ignore them since they were practically stock holders in the principal's office.

"Any news yet?" Lucy was giddy with excitement as she took a seat beside Linda.

"Nothing. I do not think this is going to happen." Linda's super hearing was giving her the impression that Principal Danvers was not going to budge on his decision.

"Don't worry, Dad and Clark will think of something." she seemed to be assuring herself more than her friend.

At that moment, Clark and Bill Lane stepped out of the office with mixed expressions on their faces.

**********

Ethan was busy cutting off the excess tree branches that were hanging over the softball field when he heard Linda hollering his name. He wondered if she used super voice projection because he could not see her anywhere.

She finally appeared in his line of sight, running very fast with a gleeful expression on her face. He hurriedly stepped off the ladder, trying to clean up his arms and shake off his shirt as best as he could. He was all sweaty and messy from the work he had been doing all morning.

"I'm in! I passed the equivalency test!" she announced as she hugged him tightly.

"That's fantastic Linda! I knew you could do it." he took her arms off from around his neck. He saw the hurt in her eyes. She did not understand why he did that.

"I'm sweaty Linda, and stinking. I don't want to get you dirtied up." She seemed so sensitive these days. Something that he chose to attribute to her having to deal with the abrupt loss and unimaginable changes happening to her at present.

"Tell you what. Let me finish up my work for the day and get cleaned up. How about I pick you up tonight around 6:30? We can have a celebratory dinner."

"That sounds great. I have to move my things into the dorm immediately though. Pick me up here. Lois and Lucy will help me move in all day." she gave him a quick kiss then ran off. Ethan saw Clark signaling for her to come over to where he was standing with Mr. Lane and Lucy.

**********

"Lois and I will take care of getting your school supplies. In the meantime, Lucy has promised that you can borrow her books." Kal-El told Kara as they had lunch at his apartment in Metropolis. They had flown together after Mr. Lane was out of sight and Lucy was back in school.

Linda played with her food. She was not really hungry for some reason. All she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry.

"Suck it in Kara. You can't live everyday this depressed. You have to move on." he advised her as he cleared the table.

"You don't understand how I feel Kal-El. You never met your parents except through the knowledge crystals and you did not spend enough time with mine to actually care about them the way I do." Kara explained as she moved to the kitchen and helped him load the dishwasher.

"That's not fair of you to say Kara. We have suffered the same loss. We both have no family now. We are both now part of a lost heritage. Don't make this all about you. I am grieving as well." he told her.

After turning the knobs on the washer, Kal-El proceeded to his living room. Kara followed him and sat beside him. She cold not believe he was grieving. He showed no signs of it. Or maybe this was how the humans did it? After all, Kal-El was more human than Kryptonian having grown up on earth.

She must have fallen asleep on the couch because the next thing she knew, Lois was waking her up and tellng her to get ready to go clothes shopping. Kara had a very limited supply of human clothes. The pair of pants and blouse that she was wearing was a hand me down from Lois.

"Let me talk to her Clark. She needs a woman to talk to." she heard Lois advising Clark while she freshened up in the bathroom and got ready to leave.

"I don't know how to handle this Lois. I will appreciate the help." he told her.

Kara stepped out of the bathroom and went into the living room where Lois and Clark were discussing her. "I am ready to go Lois."

**********

Kara was amazed at how many things Earth girls needed in order to survive. There were clothes, jewelry, cosmetics, shoes, night gowns, underwear... everything made her head spin. At least she now understood the concept of money. She did not understand why she needed to have it the last time she came to the planet for a visit.

"Linda, you do know that you can talk to Clark, Lucy, me, or just about anybody in the family if you need to get some things off your chest right?"

Lois and she were seated at a coffeehouse in the mall. This was Linda's first taste of coffee. It tasted bitter to her.

Lois suggested adding more cream and sugar to the mix. It improved the taste enough to make the bitter beverage bearable for her. Linda sadly understood that she would have to get used to these strange tastes now. She would no longer be able to go home for Alura's version of home cooked meals. Those were now just memories for her.

"I know that Lois and I thank you for the offer. I just need to deal with this privately for now." Linda explained.

How would it be possible for her to tell Lois that she wanted to just be left alone to scream and scream and cry and cry until she was emotionally spent? Then maybe, she could get on with her life.

"Just remember, you can't handle everything alone. Sometimes, you need to let other people help you and understand what you are feeling."

"If I need somebody to talk to, Lucy will just be in the next bed.' Linda referred to the sleeping arrangement in the dorm at Midvale School.

"And you can always fly to Ethan anytime." Lois teased her.

Lighting up at the mention of Ethan's name, Lois knew that Ethan would be the key to helping Linda get through this change in her life. She just hoped that Linda's boyfriend would be up to the super challenge.

"Look at the time. We should get you back to the school." She gathered the bags and got up from her seat.

"I need to get one of those things." Linda said pointing to the watch on Lois' wrist.

"A watch? Let's pick one up on the way out."

"What about the money? I have not started work yet and you have already spent so much."

"Clark has spent so much. Don't worry about it. We want to take care of you. " Lois winked at her.

**********

"Sit still Linda! I don't want to poke your eye out!" Lucy said in exasperation.

She was trying to help Linda prepare for her date. Ethan was due at the dorm to pick her up in a half hour and so far, the only thing that was ready was Linda's casual slacks and blouse that Lois picked out that day for her to wear on the date.

"Do I really need to put all of this on? I mean, Ethan already loves me without all these things."

"Girl, you have a lot to learn. If you want to keep Ethan, you gotta up the volume on the X- Factor."

"X- factor?"

"Remind me to get you some fashion magazines. That will explain everything." her friend said as the intercom on the wall buzzed.

"Linda, There is an Ethan Logan in the reception area for you."

"Thanks Julie. Tell him Linda wil be right down." Lucy answered the call for her. Julie was the head girl of their dorm room.

"Tell her to hurry. Ethan is a hunk."

"Don't mind her. She did not mean that." Lucy told Linda who had just slipped into her clothes.

"Don't mind what?"

"II'll explain it to you some other time." Lucy then realized that her friend had not idea about what flirting was.

After a few more fashion adjustments. Linda was out the door.

"I set your watch to chime at 9:30. That is to remind you that dorm curfew is at 10. Now go and enjoy your date." Lucy cheered her friend on as she went down the stairs to meet Ethan.


	5. A Place To Call Home

**DISCLAIMER:** Characters in this story remain the property of DC Comics, Inc. Movie copyrights and trademarks are owned by Alexander & Ilya Salkind, Warner Bros. Pictures, and TriStar Pictures. The story contained herein is meant only for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from the story. No infringement is intended. I offer this fan fiction as a tribute to the creative teams involved in the actual production of both the movie and comic. However, I reserve the right to any original characters I create for the purpose of fan fiction story telling.

**A Place To Call Home**

Ethan had an idea up his sleeve that he hoped Clark would agree to. Whether he agreed or not, Ethan had already gone ahead and done it anyway. He took the pocket of time Linda spent with Lois and Lucy over the past couple of days to make his choice and list the talking points he would use to convince Clark that he wasn't going to abuse the trust he and Linda had placed in him. He believed that his plan would make Linda very happy and help her adjustment process. Provided Clark did not change into Superman and pound him into the ground for even suggesting it.

He called up Clark who was back at work at The Daily Planet and asked him meet him at a diner near Ethan's Midvale gardening office. There was no sense in him driving all the way to Metropolis when Clark could easily meet him anywhere. As they shared a sandwich and coffee snack, Clark seemed to be listening intently to his suggestion. If everything went according to plan, he would be able to present Linda with his surprise during their date that night.

"I see what you mean Ethan. After all, that is why I created the Fortress of , I am concerned about how Kara would take to it. It is a tremendous departure from Kryptonian traditions. She may not like it. " Clark seemed to have an open mind about the idea.

"We won't be breaking any traditions. I just want to make sure that she will actually have a place on Earth. Somewhere she can feel secure and know that it is a permanent part of her life." Ethan assured Clark, he was glad that Clark did not go all super on him and instead accepted his suggestion.

"If Kara is okay with it. I don't see why I can't let her try it. After all, if you even try to harm a hair on her..."

"I plan on living to a ripe old age Clark." he assured the man of steel.

**********  
Dinner had gone smoothly for the pair. Raiken was a new Japanese restaurant at the Promenade that they decided to try out. Linda enjoyed the food but drew the line at Sushi. She was not sure if her system was ready to eat raw earth food.

After a shared Green Tea ice cream for dessert, Linda was ready to call it a night. She was tired from all the activities of the day and, even though she wanted nothing more than to stay in Ethan's company all night, she had to get back to school.

"One more stop then I promise to take you back to school." he handed her the extra helmet for her to wear. Since they were riding in tandem on his motorcycle, she had to wear the head shield. Even though there was no motorcycle accident that could possibly turn her into pink mist, she still wore the helmet because the law of the land dictated it. Ethan could be arrested if he was seen with an unprotected back seat passenger.

"Okay. But let's not stay wherever it is too long alright? I have an early class tomorrow." She put on the helmet and got behind him.

The roar of the motorcycle as it sped away from the parking lot was deafening for most people who heard it. Linda held on tight to his waist not because she was afraid of falling off, but because she liked the feel of being so close to his skin. She liked the smell of what she found out was called aftershave lotion on him. It reminded her of the smell of morning dew on the grass that she smelled the first time she came to earth.

They turned into a middle class suburb of Midvale. The streets were lined with identical double story houses. She wondered what there would be for them to do there. She did not know anybody who lived there. Well, the Lane's lived about 5 minutes away from the area. But in Linda's mind, they did not count.

He pulled the motorcyle into the driveway of a simple looking house. The exterior paint was cream and looked like those homes she saw in the magazines that were in Lois' room. The light was on in the living room.

"This is a nice house. Who lives here?" she asked after Ethan had turned off the engine and he could finally hear her speak.

"You'll find out." he smiled mischeviously at her as he walked up to the door and unlocked it.

"C'mon." he told her as he held the door open for her.

The house was simply furnished inside. It was nothing as elegant as the Lane's house. This one had a very small backyard and a kitchen just big enough for 2 people to move around in. The dining table was only good for 4 people.

"Take a look upstairs." he encouraged her by taking her hand and leading the way.

There were 2 bedrooms. The first one she opened reminded her of the way Ethan's apartment was set up. In fact, the bed seemed awfully familiar to her. What was going on?

After accidentally opening the door to the only bathroom in the house, the next door had her gasping in surprise. Some of the clothes that she and Lois had bought were lying on the bed. Some of the shopping bags were on the floor. The dresser in the corner of the room held the memorabilia box that she had asked Kal-El to keep for her at the Fortress of Solitude.

"Do you like it?" Ethan asked her. He pulled her by the waist and hugged her from behind.

"Why are your and my things here? What's going on? " she asked, almost guessing the answer. She felt excitement building up within her as she anticipated his explanation.

"I wanted us to have a place to call our own. Where we can both live comfortably and not have to worry about living space. Where we can each have our individual spaces but still be together when we want to be. It's just a rental. " He began to explain.

"I wanted you to have a place to call home. After all, Clark has the fortress and his apartment. All you have is the dorm and that is not ever going to be home for you." he reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver necklace that had a silver key attached as the pendant.

"We have a saying on earth, "Home is where the heart is." My heart is at home here and I am hoping, that your heart will be at home here with me." He cleared Linda's neck of hair and clasped the necklace with great care around her neck.

She went over to the dresser mirror to see what he had placed around her neck. The key was engraved with the name "Ethan". She could not believe it. What did he think they were going to do?

"Mine says Linda. Our key's open the door to the house.I figured it was symbolic. Our hearts could both find a home here."

"You promised me that you were not going to pressure me." she reminded him as she sat on the bed and tried to understand what was happening.

"No pressure Linda. Look, we have seperate rooms. We won't do anything you don't want to do." he assured her.

"I have to talk to Kal-El..."

"He said if it was okay with you and I swore not to do anything stupid with you, he would not pound me into the center of the earth." he told her sitting beside her and lifting her face up to his as he spoke.

"Are you mad?"

"Not mad. Just confused. I don't know..."

"I just thought that you would want a place to call home. A place to come to when you need to be alone. I will be at work most of the day and you will be at the boarding school 5 days out of 7. You can't stay at the Lane's every week-end." he reasoned.

"But Kryptonian tradition dictates certain things." she tried to explain.

"Kal-El told me. I understand. I just want to take care of you Linda. Won't you let me do that?" he appealed to her.

He wanted to take care of her. She wanted to be taken care of. She wanted a place to call home. A place to call her own. Ethan was willing to give that to her. No strings attached. Why not give it a chance?

"Linda, my family died when I was very helped me out. I had nobody to take care of me. My relatives eventually got tired of keeping me in their homes so I eventually had to make a life of my own before I was actually ready. I have always had to take care of myself. I don't have any other family. When you came into my life, you changed that. I wasn't alone anymore. Believe me when I say I know what you are going through. You need somebody to take care of you. Let me be that person."

So, his parents had died. He knew what she was going through. Maybe this was what she needed at this point in time. Maybe he could help her grieve.

"Promise me you won't pressure me into anything else? No sleepwalking? Lucy and Lois can come over for sleepovers? "

Linda had this way of saying yes in a very round about manner. He knew what she was leading up to.

"Lock your door if you want to be extra safe when you are here. You can do anything you want my Karalinda. This is your house just as it is mine. " he told her before kissing her deeply.

Their arms locked in a tight embrace. Their lips met and their senses filled with a need to just surrender to the moment. Neither of them seemed to notice as their bodies sank onto the bed.  
The alarm went off on the watch at that very moment. Bringing Linda to her senses, she pushed Ethan away. "We've got 30 minutes to get back to the school."

She got up and headed down the stairs. Somehow Ethan seemed glued to the bed and unable to move. He sank onto the bed instead.

"Let's go." she hollered.

"Coming!" he answered breathing heavily. He rolled off the bed and walked in a hunched over manner to cover what was going between his legs.

He had a yearning for Linda that he knew she would not submit to at that moment. However, he knew that such a time would eventually come and when it did, it would be on Linda's terms.

**********  
"He did what??? And you accepted???" Lucy screamed when Linda showed her the key to the house.

"What's wrong with it?" Linda asked as she changed into her nightshirt.

"I can't even begin... and Clark said yes!" Lucy was exasperated at both of them. She did not know who was dumb and dumber between the two super cousins.

"But I won't be sleeping there alone with him. We can make it like our own fortress of solitude. Like the clubhouse we have here in school. We can chill and hang around." Linda explained trying to hide her fear at the reaction of her friend.

"My parents are not going to like this the least bit." Lucy told her as she got under the covers.

"The house is 5 minutes away from yours. One minute by flight."

"I don't know Linda. If I am too young for that kind of room mate arrangement, you are not just too young, but too stupid too."

"It's Ethan, not like I am rooming with a total stranger." Linda felt insulted that Lucy would not trust Ethan the way she did.

"I know you love the guy Linda but you have to be very careful."

"What is the worst he can do to me? You know I can take care of myself." Linda discreetly reminded her that she was not just Linda but Kara, the Supergirl.

"Just promise me that you won't do anything stupid ok? If he does anything to make you feel uncomfortable, you will hurl him all the way to the moon, never to be seen again?"

"I'll make sure he lands in the Phantom Zone." she assured her friend as she turned out the lamp light on her bedside table.

She found herself having to fight off a sense of deep sadness and pain as she remembered that even the Phantom Zone was no more. It too had exploded and merged with the dust particles of the inner space where Argo City once stood.


	6. The Housewarming

**DISCLAIMER:** Characters in this story remain the property of DC Comics, Inc. Movie copyrights and trademarks are owned by Alexander & Ilya Salkind, Warner Bros. Pictures, and TriStar Pictures. The story contained herein is meant only for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from the story. No infringement is intended. I offer this fan fiction as a tribute to the creative teams involved in the actual production of both the movie and comic. However, I reserve the right to any original characters I create for the purpose of fan fiction story telling.

**The Housewarming**

The school week seemed to fly by so fast for Linda. The classes in science, math, computers, and other subjects that she was forced to study now seemed so elementary to her. Indeed, the lessons were only elementary lessons for Kryptonian children and it was difficult for her to pretend that she did not know what the class was being taught. Although her equivalency exam indicated that she could readily move on to a college education, Clark has insisted that she finish her senior year in high school before attending college. He said something about the final year of high school being the most memorable event in a human's life. As far as Kara was concerned, she still had to find that memorable event.

Her days were filled by running from class to class with Lucy, who was trying to help her make more friends with the other girls while totally avoiding the path of Myra and Muffy since they carried a grude against Linda for having stopped their plans to knock out Lucy during their Phys. Ed. class 2 years ago. They seemed to always be following Linda around but they could never catch her alone. If Linda was not with Lucy, she was in the school garden waiting for Ethan to drop by for his daily visits.

This was the first week-end Linda was going to spend at the house. She was thrilled at the idea of having a place to call home even though Lucy thought she was crazy to go into it. They even argued about it before Lucy left the dorm for her parent's house

"You are crazy Linda, you can't just rush into decisions like this." Lucy warned her as she helped her pack up her week-end study guides and books.

"Lucy, you have to understand my situation. You have your parents and your home to go to when things get rough. They will support you. Be there for you. You have a sanctuary to run to when you feel like your world is crumbling and you are all alone. Clark, even though he is my cousin, barely knows me and is too busy with his job and his own relationship to have to bother about my problems and worries. I don't have anyone else, I don't have any place else. Ethan is it for me. He wants to take care of me. What is so hard to understand about that?" she reasoned as she zipped up her bookbag and placed it near the door with her overnight bag.

"I am just saying Linda, you have barely been here a month and the first thing you did was shack up with your boyfriend. It isn't done." Lucy pretended to be busy packing her own overnight bag as well.  
"What would you have me do Lucy? Where would I go this weekend? Back to your house? Stay with your parents? I had parents Lucy. They are gone now and they raised me to know how to take care of myself. Don't you think Clark would have said no if it was a really bad idea?"

"Clark is not 17 Linda!"

"It is not like I am, what did you say the tradition was called? It is not like I am marrying Ethan."

"And that is what I have a problem with! That is what most people will have a problem with when they find out that you are a 17 year old living with a 19 year old guy! Nobody will ask if you sleep in separate rooms. Nobody will care. They will only see and understand what they want to see and understand."

"What is the big deal? You said having room mates was normal." Linda was beginning to feel distress at all the new social norms she was having to learn in this society. It seemed to her that everything she had done so far had been wrong and only upset her best friend each time she found out what Linda was up to.

"Room mates Linda, means 2 boys or 2 girls in the same house. Not a teenage girl who has no parents but a guardian who seems to be more lost than you are with regards to human ways, and a man who happens to be just above the legal age. That totally changes the equation."

"I have a hard time understanding this concept. It is alright for me to fall in love with Ethan but it is not alright for me to stay in the same house? If that is so, then why am I allowed to fall in love with him? How come we can go out on dates and nobody minds? " Linda was close to the breaking point. She felt a headache coming on as she tried to force herself to process the information that only left her with more questions than answers.

"Relationships are complicated here on earth Linda. It is something you will have to learn about over time."

"Lucy, your car is here." Mrs. Murray's voice over the intercome interrupted their conversation.

The friends looked at each other without saying a word. Neither of them wanting to say something the other might regret.

"I'll see you on Monday." Lucy told her friend as she headed out the door.

Linda closed the door behind her and looked out the window, waiting for the familiar sight of Ethan on his motorcycle. Tears were starting to swell out of her eyes.

**********

Ethan noticed that Linda was listless when they finally got back to the house. Whatever it was that was bothering her left her so preoccupied that she did not even notice that he was taking a shower when she came into the bathroom to set up her toiletries. Ethan had this habit of taking a portable radio to the shower with him. He liked to listen to music and sing along as he scrubbed himself off. It was no wonder that he did not hear the doorknob turn and the door open.

"Linda!" He shouted when he opened the curtains and saw her standing at the bathroom cabinet, her back turned to him. He almost slipped on the wet pavement as he grabbed for his towel to cover himself up.

"Huh? Ethan? Ethan!" she glanced behind her, froze at the sight of his naked body before her then realized what she was seeing. She turned on her heels in a hurry. She dropped the bag of toiletries on the floor and ran out of the room. Burning with some sort of feeling that she could not explain.

So that was what he looked like underneath the clothes. Why did she suddenly feel strange? What was this urge that seemed to suddenly have built up inside of her at the sight of Ethan in a state of undress? She could not decide if it was a good or bad feeling, or even if she should act upon what was slowly becoming an impulse within her. What was going on within her? Was this desire she was feeling a human or Kryptonian emotion? How could she tell the difference? Was there a difference? Was she becoming more human now and less Kryptonian? She shuddered at the idea of losing her Kryptonian heritage and becoming almost all human like Kal-El. She was not ready to let go of that which made her unique just yet.

She could not explain why she started to smile at the thought of what had just happened. She went into her room and locked the door behind her. The feeling seemed to be growing intense inside her. What was she feeling? Maybe Lois could tell her what this was all about. Or maybe not. The last thing she needed was another Lane mad at her.

There was a knock on the door. "Linda, open up. It's me."

Ethan was now fully clothed with dripping wet hair. She had run out of the bathroom so fast that he was absolutely sure she used super speed. If he was right about his suspicions, he had to explain some things to her.

She opened the door just a crack. "Sorry. I did not mean to walk in on you."

"My fault. I should have locked the door. Are you done unpacking? Do you need any help?"

"I'm almost done. What time is it?"

"3:30. Let me in. We have to talk about what just happened."

"Ethan, it's alright. There is nothing to explain. I understand human anatomy. Although, this is the first time I've seen a man in without the clothes on. " She was already used to seeing other women in various states of undress over at their dorm.

The female anatomy was of no big deal to her after discovering that the female human and Kyrptonian female anatomy were not different from each other in terms of looks because of her dorm mates. From what she had studied and seen in the books of Kryptonian Anatomy, the human male was no different either.

An awkward pause followed.

"I'll just remember to tell you if I'm gonna use the shower. And, I'll remember to lock the door." he told her.

"Okay. go on down. I will just finish up here then we can head out for dinner ok?" she chose to ignore what had happened earlier since she saw no point in discussing it. She figured that if they were both careless with their bathroom duties, accidents like that would always happen between them so there was no need to blow it out of proportion.

"Yeah. Right. Dinner." he said sheepishly. He did not know to treat her. She was the first woman he ever met who did not consider what happened as an invitation to something more intimate.

**********

"This isn't the way to the Promenade." she shouted over the roar of the engine as they sped towards the town proper of Midvale.

"No, it isn't. There is some place we have to go first." he hollered back at her.

They turned onto the parking lot that had the sign "Honest Abe's Used Cars" towering over it.

"Are you getting a car?" she asked him after he had parked the motorcyle.

"We are getting a car. Linda, remember this, there is no you and I, there is only us. There is only we." he touched his thumb to her upper lip to remind her of what they meant to each other.

Her skin tingled at his touch. She sighed in contentment. She could not ask for more out of her new life. She had a man who loved her and cared for her and she had Clark and the Lanes to call her family.

"But what for? We have the motorcycle."

"Well, I can't keep picking you up in this. I barely got your overnight bag to stay on. A car would also be a more comfortable ride for you when you prefer not to fly." he winked at her.

Anchoring an arm around each other's waist, they made their way to the display lot. An hour later, they drove off in a Volkswagon GTI.

**********

"We need to stop by the grocery and pick up some food." She told Ethan after their meal. Much as she liked eating out, she never forgot what Lucy told her. That men like having women cook for them. After everything Ethan had done for her, it was the very least she could do for him.

"Can you cook?" he asked her, somehow he saw her flipping a pancake and sending it through the roof instead of imagining what her cooking would taste like.

"We will find out." she teased him.

She wondered if it would be possible to duplicate a typical Kryptonian meal on earth. Well, whatever, she would have to learn to cook because the expense of eating out every week-end was something she did not relish since Ethan refused to let her go dutch. Clark had given her some money the last time they were together and he told her to use it whenever she needed to. But Ethan told her that taking care of her meant he spent for whatever they did together. Eating being one of those things they did together.

**********

There was a strange buzzing sound that threatened to wake Kara up from her deep slumber the next day. What was that offensive noise? Was that Kal-El she heard downstairs? Whatever, she was too sleepy to find out. Ethan had kept her up half the night regaling her with stories of his childhood which she countered with her own stories. It was almost daybreak when they made their way up to their respective rooms.

"Linda, wake up. You need to come down. We have guests." Ethan knocked on her door. He tried the handle but it was locked.

Kicking off her covers she got up and opened the door. "Who is it?"

"You won't believe me if I told you. Just get dressed okay?" Ethan had not planned on having a housewarming party and had no idea that Clark and Lois had prepared a surprise for them for their first week-end at their new house.

"Fine." she yawned. She made her way to the shower with her eyes still half closed.

**********

As she took her shower, her super hearing kicked into gear and she heard Lois and Clark downstairs. Somebody was cooking in the kitchen and Jimmy was making something called O.J.

"There you are!' Lois greeted her when she finally made it downstairs.

"Hi Lois! What's up?" Linda greeted her.

"What's up? What does it look like?" Lois smiled at her.

"You making breakfast."

There was that sound again. She wished it would go away.

"Doorbell. Get the door Linda." Lois told her almost as if she guessed that the noise was puzzling her.

"Hey there girl!" Lucy greeted her with a casserole pot in her hands.

"Lucy, what are you doing here? I thought you were mad at me?"

"C'mon now. You're my little sister. I could never stay mad at you. Get this crack pot into the kitchen. I have to help mom and dad with their housewarming gift."

"Housewarming?"

"It's a human thing. A new house always needs a party. Coming mom!" Lucy turned and walked back to her parent's car.

"BTW, Lois told our folks, they are cool with it."

"Okay with it? They don't think I am doing something scandalous like you said?"

"Nope. They figure if Clark gave his consent then there must be something to it. Besides, they promised Lois and Clark that we will look out for you on week-ends. By the way, did you know that you can legally get married if Clark signs a consent form for you?" she teased her friend as she walked backwards towards her parents, almost slipping off the first step.

"Lucy, I already told you..."

"Hey no pressure on you two. I know you will both do the right thing. I'm just putting it out there. Gotta look out for my sis." she smiled then turned and ran to the car.


	7. Troubled Hearts

**DISCLAIMER:** Characters in this story remain the property of DC Comics, Inc. Movie copyrights and trademarks are owned by Alexander & Ilya Salkind, Warner Bros. Pictures, and TriStar Pictures. The story contained herein is meant only for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from the story. No infringement is intended. I offer this fan fiction as a tribute to the creative teams involved in the actual production of both the movie and comic. However, I reserve the right to any original characters I create for the purpose of fan fiction story telling.

**Troubled Hearts**

Frostee's had not changed much physically since she last worked there. There were new employees working with Lucy whom Linda had to get to know but everything was still pretty much the same. Dean was still in charge and pretending to be as strict as possible. Lucy told her that his family owned the restaurant now and Dean was almost unbearable as an employer because of it. But Lucy never quit because the place paid well and her parents, who raised her as an army brat, believed that she had it within her to learn from this work experience. So far all she had learned was that she wanted to give Dean a fat lip each time her ordered her around as if she were a foot soldier.

The two L's are Dean called them collectively were working different shifts at the food joint. Lucy had the afternoon shift which began at 3 every afternoon and ended at 6. Linda had the evening shift that started at 6 and ended at 9. Ethan would often pick her up after work and take her home to the dorm except on Friday nights when they went home to the house.

Linda had already cleaned the restuarant and refilled all the dispensers that night. Ethan usually arrived around 8:30 and waited for her shift to end but he was late getting to her for some reason. It was already 9:30 and there was still no sign of him. The only other person left at the place was Dean who was busy working on the day's sales report. He invited her to sit with him while she waited.

This was the first time that Dean ever got to spend any relaxation time with any of his employees. As Linda sat infront of him reading his charts, she pointed out his calculation mistakes to him which left him astonished. She was doing it all without the aid of a calculator and she did not even know the formula he was using and yet she got all the answers right when he computed it himself. Setting aside his work for the night, he decided that he should get to know this bright young woman, after all, they were of the same age and would probably be hanging out as friends if things had been different.

Kal-El had helped Linda come up with a plausible story for her background in case anybody asked her. Her parents were to have died in a plane crash that left her as the ward of her cousin Clark. The rest of her story, about coming to live in Midvale to study, was all true.

"You're a strange one Linda Lee." Dean said as he sat fascinated by her story and what he noticed now, were he intoxicating blue eyes.

She smiled and acknowledged him. The alarm on her watch reminded her of the time. Where was Ethan?

Dean took the chance to tell her all about himself next. Linda could not help but compare the background of Ethan and Dean. One brought himself up in life and the other had everything handed to him because his family was rich. He wanted this restaurant so his family bought it for him. He also had lofty dreams that he convincingly talked about.

"Eventually, I plan to attend the Harvard Business School and get my degree in Management. I think it will come in handy when I start to expand." he related while he offered to refill her soda glass from the dispenser.

"So you have plans to leave Midvale?" she asked.

"Eventually. I mean, what kind of loser would want to spend his whole life in this hum drum town? Nothing ever happens here. Except for those few times Supergirl was around." He recalled Kara's past 2 visits without realizing that Supergirl was sitting right in front of him.

Ethan seemed like he had no plans of leaving Midvale, did that make him a loser? What did Ethan have planned for his future? Was the gardening it for him? Nothing more? Would she be stuck in the dead end town as well?

"What's going on in that pretty head of yours?" Dean complimented her in such a way that she felt herself blushing.

"I was just wondering about some things that would probably bore you." she looked outside the glass door and used her distance vision to see the Volkswagon finally making its approach.

"I better get my stuff together. Ethan will be here any minute now." she got up from her chair and headed for the locker room.

Ethan was rapping on the glass door when she got back. He watched from the other side as Linda said goodnight to her boss. Dean did something strange that night that bothered Ethan. He gave her a goodbye kiss on the cheek. He could not understand why Linda allowed it. She was his girl. Or did she not understand what that meant?

"What happened to you?" she asked him with great concern. His face was still red with jealousy.

"Car problems. I would have called but I figured Dean would not let you come to the phone." He explained.

**********

"Will you let it go Ethan? Please. I am tired and all I want to do is go to bed right now." she pleaded with him as they walked into the house.

He had been badgering her with questions since she got into the car. What was it that was so wrong with allowing Dean to give her a buss on the cheek? Even Mr. Lane gave her a kiss on the cheek and he never acted so jealous before.

"You just don't get it do you Linda? You are my girl. My girlfriend. You have certain duties and responsibilities. You have to act a certain way!"

"No Ethan. I don't get it. You will have to explain it to me." she answered as she put her things on the shelf near the entryway. She headed straight to the couch to rest her tired feet.

If only Ethan were not too busy picking a fight with her he would have noticed that she was feeling tired. Something that was not common to Super beings. Linda knew that there was something emotionally wrong with her. But she did not have the inclination to bring it up with Ethan at the time. She just wanted him to leave her alone.

"I am going to my room now." she told him. Leaving him to vent and seethe on his own.

**********

Over the next few weeks, Ethan observed the change in the employer-employee dynamic between Linda and Dean. All her stories were now punctuated with quotes from Dean and what he said and did or whatever. It was driving him up the wall with jealousy. Dean was competition and he was stealing away his girl, and Linda did not realize it.

Everything came to a head between Linda and Ethan the day that she told him to go home instead of picking her up after work. She had accepted an invitation to have a snack after work from Dean.

"You don't go around having dinner with other guys when you have a boyfriend!" he scolded her over the phone when she called him at his office to tell him.

"He's not a guy, he's my boss." Linda reasoned.

"Is Lucy coming with you?"

"No."

"Then it's a date Linda. "

"It's just one meal Ethan. A snack. Don't read anything into it!" she was shouting into the phone already. Linda was sick and tired of spending the past month having to defend her friendship with Dean.

Lucy encouraged the friendship because she said that Linda needed to meet other men before settling down with just one for the rest of her life. Without telling her, Lucy was secretly hoping that Linda would go out with Dean when he asked her. Her friend needed to learn how to play the field before settling down.

"Ethan, this is not a date. It does not entail the same preparations I do when we go out." she tried to hold her temper in and lwoer her voice as the other employees began to look in her direction because of her loud voice.

"You don't have to do all those things for me when we go out."

"But I want to. Lucy said I need to up the beauty factor with you."

"Beauy factor?"

"Nevermind."

"Look, just tell me where you guys will at least be so I can pick you up."

"That won't be necessary. Dean said he would drop me off at home."

Was he planning to size up his competition? Ethan made just one request of Linda before he conceded his stand.

"Tell him you are already in a relationship with a wonderful guy who is crazy about you alright?"

"I think he can already tell that." he could not see her smiling at the thought on the other end of the line.

**********

He was like a nervous father waiting for his daughter to come home from her date that night. He had watched all the cable show there were and drank all the juice within the house. He wished he had stashed away some beer but Linda was against his drinking habit after she found out that he had become an alcoholic after she left him for the first time. As he thought about what else he could do to stay awake while waiting, he saw headlights shine against their front door. He looked out the window and saw a stylish 1986 Honda Acura pull up.

Watching them through the front door peephole, he suddenly opened the door when he saw Linda relax on the porch and Dean sit on the steps talking to her with his back turned. With the green eyed monster getting his way, he pushed Dean from the back, causing him to fall forward on the steps.

"Ethan stop!" Linda cried out in surprise.

"Stay away from my girl man!" he shouted at Dean who turned and tried to throw a punch at Ethan.

Linda placed herself between the two men. She begged Ethan to go back in to the house.

"Get him out of here." Ethan snarled slamming the door behind him.

She stood frozen in her spot for a moment. Ethan had never been like this with her. What had she done to make him so mad?

"Are you alright?" she turned to Dean who was picking himself up off the ground after Ethan's second punch to his jaw made contact.

"I'm fine. I think you better go in and talk to him." Dean was trying to shake off the pain he felt by rotating his lower jaw around.

"You need help."

He smiled at her. How he wished she were not in this undefined relationship with Ethan. That way he could have a chance at winning her over. She told him all about it during their meal and seeing how caring she was right now, made him realize even more what a lucky man Ethan was to have her.

"I'll be fine. Now go." he told her.

**********

He already had his house and motorcyle keys in hand when she came into the door. He was standing beside their brick-a-brack shelf that held their keys and other small items.

"Ethan, we need to talk." she told him.

"I don't want to talk. Not right now Linda." he told her as he started towards the door.

"Ethan..."

"Don't wait up for me. I don't know if I will be back tonight." he warned her as he slammed the door a second time in her face.

**********

Linda lay in bed awake that night. Listening for signs that he was finally home. She heard the birds beginning to wake up. The sun was slowly creeeping into her window.

"Isn't your heart at home here anymore?" she cried silently as she realized that he had not been home all night. He had left her alone. The last thing that she ever wanted to be. What had she done? Was it wrong to have other male friends aside from him? Why?

She needed to understand. She needed someone to talk to. She was alone with nobody to turn to. Clark was on assignment with Lois and Lucy was at her parent's house. Flying over to her would not be a good idea at 2 in the morning. She would wake the whole household and it was bad enough that they did not trust Ethan to do right by her in their current set up. She did not want to damage him in their eyes.

"My heart can't be at home anywhere without you Ethan. Please come back. I need you. I love you." she whispered softly. Her tears stained the pillow that her head rested upon.


	8. Trust In Love

**DISCLAIMER:** Characters in this story remain the property of DC Comics, Inc. Movie copyrights and trademarks are owned by Alexander & Ilya Salkind, Warner Bros. Pictures, and TriStar Pictures. The story contained herein is meant only for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from the story. No infringement is intended. I offer this fan fiction as a tribute to the creative teams involved in the actual production of both the movie and comic. However, I reserve the right to any original characters I create for the purpose of fan fiction story telling.

**Trust In Love**

**  
**"Hey sleepy head! Time for breakfast." Jimmy threw his wet bath towel at the figure sleeping on his couch.

Ethan stirred but did not open his eyes. He came over to Jimmy's from the house looking for beer. Something that Jimmy had in stock, well, not much of after Ethan and he were done. He heard a phone ringing somewhere in the house.

"He's here. I'll take care of everything." he heard Jimmy say. Who was that? Linda? Lucy?

"Yo Ethan! Eggs and bacon on the stove now! Piping hot coffee in the pot. Get up!"

Ethan mumbled something but still continued sleeping. The next thing he knew, he felt his face getting splashed with ice cold water. His shirt was dripping wet. He choked as the water entered his nose.

"Now that I have your attention..." Jimmy said holding a dry towel out to his sopping wet friend and placing the drinking glass on the coffee table.

"Man, I was going to get up in 5 minutes." Ethan complained as he dabbed his face dry.

"Linda is worried sick. Why did you storm out on her like that? That was not cool Ethan." Jimmy stood up and got two TV trays from behind his bookshelf.

Jimmy's apartment looked a lot like Ethan's old pad with the exception that Lucy had declared war on the disarray that existed and set out to organize everything in the house. She was about halfway done at this point and the woman's touch in the place was becoming evident.

"I told you, I was jealous. That Dean is bad news." he got up and headed to the small kitchen to pour himself some coffee.

"Linda is worried sick Ethan. She has called everybody you both know."

"Good. Let her worry."

"Ethan..."

'Maybe Dean can help her find me. She did not even fly after me ! That says a lot about how seriously she is taking this relationship." the jealousy in his voice was quite evident. He picked up the coffee and immediately scalded his tongue.

"Serves you right. " Jimmy replied with sarcasm.

"Whose side are you on?" he asked Jimmy.

"Neither. Look, you have to understand something. Linda is new to everything happening around her. She doesn't know anybody except us. Why deny her the right to make new friends?"

"Dean is jockeying for more than friendship." he stabbed the bacon with his fork to make a sandwich. the meat fell off and he had to stab it a few times before stayed on.

Jimmy set up his own table and sat across from his friend. Wondering what had happened to the Ethan who would give up his life for Linda. He hoped that he would never be that way with Lucy.

"It's bacon Ethan. Don't take your jealousy out on it." Jimmy reminded him as he cracked his sunny side up egg with his slice of bread.

"Ethan, go home. Talk to Linda. This is not the time to zone out. Whatever the problem is, work it out."

**********

"Linda, are you alright?" Lucy was worried when she arrived at Linda and Ethan's place with the front door unlocked.

Her friend was sitting on the couch looking like she had been crying all night. She had gone downstairs to try and wait up for Ethan as the sun began to come up. It was evident that he was not coming back to the house anytime soon so she got on the phone calling everyone she knew the minute her wrist watch beeped 9 AM. The usual wake up time at the dorm.

Lucy had barely sat down when Linda threw herself crying into the arms of her friend. "He left me Linda. He promised me he would never do that! He said it would always be us could he have lied to me? "

"Wait a minute. Get a hold of yourself girl. Start at the top. What happened? Who left?" Lucy drove out to the house when she heard Linda sobbing and talking incoherently on the phone. No questions were necessary between the two women who considered each other sisters. When one of them needed help, the other would definitely come.

"Ethan. Last night. I came home with Dean after dinner and we were sitting outside talking then Ethan stormed out and punched Dean in the jaw."

"You went out? On a date? With Dean? Are you crazy! You have a boyfriend! to make it worse, you brought Dean back here! " Lucy scolded her.

"Why do you and Ethan keep calling calling it a date? We had dinner, we talked. We are friends. We forgot the time so he took me home because it was late and I wasn't just about to fly off and let him know who I really am. Besides, Clark told me to always bring my friends home. This is my home. I brought my friend home. That was all I did!"

"Linda, at a certain point, you and Ethan will have to sort out this living arrangement. This will get far more complicated in the future. As for Dean, I knew something was wrong when he started calling you Linda Lee at work as if it meant something to him." Lucy recalled. She had her suspicions about Dean trying to strike up a relationship of sorts with Linda but never thought that Linda was actually encouraging it.

"We don't have a relationship!" Linda insisted. She got up from the couch and headed to the kitchen. She poured some orange juice into two glasses and offered one to Lucy who had followed her.

"Did you tell Dean that? Have you told Ethan that? Linda, this is exactly why I did not want you to move in with Ethan." Lucy was just plain exasperated with her friends innocence now.

She knew that Linda would be attracted to other men eventually and she had hoped that she would be able to help her friend learn how to play the field. Instead, Linda got deeper and deeper into a relationship she did not understand.

"He did not want to talk. Get the cheese and butter from the fridge will you please? " Linda answered. She put the glass down and brought out the loaf bread from the bread box.

"Do you know where he is right now? We should go to him. You two need to straighten this out." Lucy suggested as she opened the fridge.

A thought suddenly occurred to Lucy, "Why didn't you fly after him?"

"The way he looked at me last night, the anger and hurt in his eyes... somehow I knew that the last person he wanted to see or talk to was Kara." she replied as she continued to fix their cheese sandwiches.

They were halfway through their breakfast when Linda's super hearing heard the approaching roar of Ethan's motorcycle. "He's here."

He entered through the kitchen door and saw the two women finishing up their meal. "Hey Lucy! Think you can give us some privacy after you finish?"

"No problem. I was just leaving." Lucy gathered her keys from the table and motioned to Linda to talk to him as she left.

**********

They sat across from each other at the dining table. Looking deeply into each others eyes, they both knew that somebody had to say the first word but neither of them seemed to want to take the step. Why was it so hard for them to talk to each other now?

"Ethan, I..." Linda began but he held up his hand to interrupt her.

"You did not do anything wrong Linda. I spent the night at Jimmy's and we talked. I understand now. I was wrong. I forgot that you need to make other friends. I forgot that you would not have brought Dean to the house if you did not consider him a friend. He is somebody I should have considered a friend too."

"Why did you hit him Ethan? That was not necessary. I told you, it was an innocent dinner. Between friends."

He sighed and moved his chair closer to her. It was somehow very important for him to see the look in her eyes while he explained himself.

"I'm crazy in love with you Linda. I thought I was losing you."

"Losing me?" the wonder that filled her eyes pained him. He never realized how wrong he was about everything until that very moment.

"I was jealous. Look, who wouldn't be? Dean is a businessman whom everybody in town knows has a chance to go off to the big city and study at some big fancy college. He can be somebody. I am just a gardener. I can't offer you anything else but what I already have. I can't compete."

"Oh Ethan!" she cried as she pulled him closer to her. Hugging him tightly.

"How could you be so insecure? Remember what I told you? Remember who owns this?" she placed his hand over her heart.

"Why couldn't you trust in what we have. When I went back to Argo City, I placed my trust in our love. That you would wait for me and continue to love me even if I was not around to keep you reassured of how I feel for you. Why couldn't you trust in my love for you the same way?" she asked.

"Linda, I am only human. I have thoughts, emotions, and impulses that you won't always understand."

"But I am willing to learn and understand. If you would only talk to me instead of hitting people and storming out, you could teach me about how a relationship works. What you expect of me, how I should act. I could tell you how I feel about things. You scared me last night when you left and said you were not coming back." she answered as he pulled away from her.

"You told me that home is where the heart is. When you left last night and did not come back, I wondered if your heart no longer felt at home here. I thought you were not going to come back to me. You are my home Ethan. My home is always going to be where ever you are. With you I feel safe. I take security in the love you offer me. Your understanding and care is my protection on this strange planet."her voice cracked as she tried to explain to him. But he chose to turn away from her.

He wasn't going to look at her. He was not going to weaken. But his heart won over his mind once more. Within him, he knew that she had a lifetime to learn everything that would make her human.

Clark had warned him about it before giving his blessing to the room mate set up. He thought he could handle it. Clark knew all the human ways. He was practically human since he grew up on Earth. Kara on the other hand, what she knew, all that she knew about life would be useless to her now. She would need help in easing into the norms of her new home planet. She was sure to stumble and fall along the way, but she would learn from it. After all, that is what made everybody human, learning from mistakes. Now he had to prove to Clark and Lois, and anyone else who told Linda that they thought this set up was a mistake or would not work that he was in this with her for the long haul. That was what their love was all about.

Turning once again to face her, he saw her crying like a child. Wiping her eyes and nose with her hands. "You will never lose me Linda."

"Then promise me you will never do that again. Promise me! My heart is at at home only where it knows you will also be. " she was gasping for breath between sobs.

He slowly raised his thumb to her lower lip. Her lips felt soft and supple at his touch. Her stiff and nervous body almost immediately relaxed as he wrapped an arm around her. He began slowly circling her lips with his thumb before touching his lips to her now closed and wet eyelids.

"No more tears my Karalinda. No more tears. This will never happen again."

Instinctively, Linda's own fingers searched for his lips to caress before submitting her own lips to his tears flavored lips.

They let the answering machine answer the ringing phone.

"Kara. It's Kal-El. Pick up the phone." came her cousin's voice over the speaker.

Ethan relaxed his grip to let her go.

"I have to take this." she told him as she let go of him and went to take the call.


	9. Kara Comes Of Age

**DISCLAIMER:** Characters in this story remain the property of DC Comics, Inc. Movie copyrights and trademarks are owned by Alexander & Ilya Salkind, Warner Bros. Pictures, and TriStar Pictures. The story contained herein is meant only for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from the story. No infringement is intended. I offer this fan fiction as a tribute to the creative teams involved in the actual production of both the movie and comic. However, I reserve the right to any original characters I create for the purpose of fan fiction story telling.

**Kara Comes Of Age**

Kal-El had flown to the Fortress Of Solitude in order to get away from his mankind protection duties for a while. The problem he had with living in Metropolis was that crime never seemed to take a rest so that between his crime fighting and reporter duties, he never had a moment of peace. The fortress was the only place on the planet that provided that for him. One of his favorite past - times while he was there was to review the crystals that Jor-El had placed into his crystal pod when he was jettisoned to earth as a child. This was how he learned about the traditions and culture of a race that was now extinct save for him and Kara's existence.

He had been reviewing some of the crystals that Kara had taken to earth with her. So far he seemed to be learning more about the social rituals of Krypton and how their traditions were carried out. One crystal showed how Kara, as a child, was baptized as the Princess of the House Of El. She was probably around 6 years old and was participating in the dressing ceremony headed by her mother. There was Alura changing her clothes to the burlap looking white gown that females under the age of 17 wore on Krypton. Later on, he found the crystal recording showing the dress ceremony of Kara during her coming of age, this time, she dressed herself in the white gown while Alura and Zor-El looked upon her with pride in their eyes. According to what he had watched, Kara was now officially one of the young leaders of Argo City. If Argo City had not exploded, she was in line to become the one of the city leaders and sit on the Elder Council because she was the only remaining member of the House of El in their location.

Kal-El was ready to turn in for the night and had just lowered the power within the fortress when he saw a bright pink glow emanating from one of Kara's crystals. Curiousity getting the better of him, he took the crystal out and inserted it into the viewer. A shot of pink light darted out of the crystal tip and filled the room with its color, blinding Kal-El for a moment. He needed a few minutes to adjust to the new color in the fortress. As he blinked to remove the glare, the familiar voice of Zor-El reached his ears. There standing before him were Alura and Zor-El. He knew it was a recording emanating from the crystal. He was sad that Kara was not there to witness this.

"Kal-El, if you are watching this, that means that Argo City has seen its destruction and Kara is now in your care. Therefore, there are a few things you need to know. " Zor-El seemed to be looking at him directly.

"This crystal was designed to glow on the day that Kara is to turn 18 by human years. Our research has shown that this is an important age for earthings and is part of their development process. Kryptonian age is calculated by a different formula and therefore, even though Kara is only 17 by our standards, she actually turns 18 within 2 Earth months." Zor-El continued.

"We would like Kara to experience this human tradition. We beg you to see to it that she has a debut party worthy of the Princess Of The House Of El. She will have plenty more to learn before actually becoming a human being such as you have become due to your exposure on earth. Assist her during this important first step." Alura explained.

"We trust that as her guardian, you will know how to do this and explain this tradition to her. Do not fail us Kal-El." Zor-El ended as the figures began to fade away.

"Oh great! Lois better know how to do this because I sure don't know what to do." he told himself as he set aside the crystal. He would deal with it in the morning.

**********

"But I don't want to have a party Kal-El! I don't even know what a debut is all about." Kara protested while she was seated in Kal-El's apartment in Metropolis. He had asked her to fly there after her classes in order to tell her what her parents had asked him to do.

"Kara, we have to do it. Your parent's want you to do it. We must honor it." he explained to her while he cleaned his glasses.

"I realize that. It is just that..."

"I've spoken to Lois and Lucy. They are more than happy to help us organize everything. The Lanes have volunteered to host the party at their house." he was not going to let Kara talk him out of this.

Somehow, her presence in his life had struck a caring cord within him that he could not explain. Just as Ethan took care of her, he too cared for her like the sister he never had. Over the months, she had come to blossom in front of him. But the fact that she refused to talk to him about what she saw during the demise of Argo City bothered him. He was sure that she needed to talk about it but chose to ignore it instead.

The door to the apartment opened. "Where's the debutante? We have a lot of work to do if we are doing this in a week. " Lois asked excitedly as she came into the room.

"A week?!" Kara looked at Kal-El with an incredulous look on her face. There as absolutely no way this was happening in a week's time.

"So, I talked to the press that prints invitations for our family occassions and I got them to agree to a rush print job for the debut. How many will we be needing?" She asked Kara. "Do we know if you will have a gown made or are you buying one off the rack?"

"I have no idea about anything you are asking me. " Kara hoped that these people knew what they were doing.

**********

"Will I be needing a tux?" Ethan asked her after she told him of the debut preparations.

"What's a tux?" she asked. They were cooking spaghetti in their small kitchen and were constantly bumping into each other.

"Formal menswear for parties like that." he explained.

"I dunno. I guess so." she replied as she held up the sauce laddle for him to taste.

"More salt." he brushed her cheek softly with his arm as he reached for the salt dispenser on the shelf.

"You don't seem excited about this." he told her.

"I am Ethan. It's just that..."

He looked at her when she suddenly went quiet.

"I wish my parents were here. Clark said this was a big deal among earth parents and their daughters. I just wish..." her voice cracked and she immediately dabbed the corners of her eyes to stop the tears.

Taking off the cooking gloves, he pulled her into his arms and just held her. "Let it out Linda. Cry if you want to."

**********

"So, I spoke to my mom and she says that we can use the car this week-end to find you the perfect gown. She already called her favorite botique and set up an appointment for us. What time should I pick you up?" Lucy told Linda as they sat down to lunch at the school cafeteria.

"Your dad won't be driving us?" Linda remembered that Mr. Lane drove them around the year before. Lucy was not allowed to drive at all.

"You kidding? I got my license last year after you left. I can drive wherever I want to now. It is kind of like flying for you." she whispered the last part to her friend.

"Oh. I see. So I could drive if I wanted to ?"

"Sure. After you take lessons and pass the test."

"I think I will fly instead. Human's do too much studying for my taste." Linda joked as she ate the mashed potatoes on her plate.

"Ditto. Will you be eating that?" Lucy agreed as she took the cupcake from Linda's lunch plate.

**********

Linda knocked on Dean's office door before she left for the day.

"Come in." Dean acknowledged.

"Hi Dean." Linda greeted him upon entering the room.

"Linda, come in." he beamed at her.

"I don't want to bother you. I just want to drop this off. I hope you can come. All my friends are invited. " she dropped the invitation on his desk.

He picked it up and opened the envelope. He looked up at her and smiled. "Got an escort yet?" he had a mischevious gleam in his eyes.

"Ethan." she replied.

"Got room for one more?" he asked hopefully.

"Nope. Just Ethan. Unless you want to get slugged again." she kidded him.

He pretended to laugh at what she said. His jaw hurt for over a month and he could only sip soup for 2 weeks after that punch Ethan gave him.

"See you there." he told her. He was not going to force the issue. At least not yet.

**********  
Ethan had spent the whole week looking for the perfect gift for Linda. Whatever it was he gave her, it would have to be something she would treasure for the rest of their lives. What could it be?

"We've been walking for 4 hours now Ethan. Will you just pick something already." Jimmy complained as they rounded the mall for the 4th time that day.

"I don't know what to get her. What kind of gift can I give to Supergirl? " Ethan admitted.

"Fer crying out loud Ethan, what is it that women love the most?" Jimmy asked him to guess.

Ethan looked at him blankly.

"Jewelry." Jimmy pointed at the display window of Stylus Jewellers.

"I need something for an 18 year old. Something that looks uncommon and special." he told the female jewelry store attendant.

"We just got something in today." the woman left the room and came back with a closed jewerly box.

"If your aren't on too tight a budget, this heart shaped Ruby gemstone with a Topaz insert silver necklace would make a wonderful gift. " she continued her sales talk while the men looked at the necklace. Neither of the men actually understood what the woman was saying. The only thing that caught Ethan's attention were the colors of the stones.

"It looks expensive." Jimmy warned.

"Yeah. But Jimmy, look at the colors. It would actually mean something to her." Ethan hinted.

"Oh right..." he replied remembering that the colors in front of him were the standard colors of both Superman and Supergirl.

"Do you take cards?" Ethan asked the woman, dreading to hear the price.

**********

Linda spent the day of the party at the Lane's house. Mrs. Lane insisted on hiring a professional hair stylist and make up artist for her while Lucy and Lois helped her get dressed. Things were so hectic that she forgot to have lunch.

"Drop the sandwich!" Lois screamed when she saw Linda sneaking a snack in the kitchen.

"I haven't eaten all day Lois!" Linda protested bringing the sandwich to her mouth.

"Do you want to fit into the gown or not?" she grabbed the bread out of her hands and set it aside.

"Lois, this is me we are talking about." she tried to reason.

"I don't care. We will not risk you gaining even an inch before that dress is put on."

"Linda! Get up here. You can't eat with that make up on. You will ruin it! Wait till the party!" she heard Lucy hollering from upstairs.

Why were they more excited than she was?

"Coming Lucy." she dragged herself out of the kitchen and back up the stairs.

**********

Linda was finally ready for the party. She was wearing a light pink, off the shoulder formal gown that Mrs. Lane helped her pick out. Her shoulders were clearly defined even though she never exercised as she had a typical Kryptonian female body structure. Her hair was set in a bun and held up by a bejeweled butterfly clip that Lois had lent her for the occassion. If only her parents could see her now.

Her parents. She had been fighting the guilt that had been growing inside of her since Clark had told her about the party. It wasn't fair that they were no longer with her to enjoy this momentous occassion in her life. If it was so important, then they should have been there. They should have left Argo City with her. There was a knock on the door.

"Kara? Are you ready?" Kal-El asked.

"Come in Kal-El." she pulled a tissue out of the box and blotted the tears before it could make her masacara run.

"It's time." he told her, his jaw dropping as she stood up and turned to him.

"You look exquisite Kara. A beautiful living doll." he complimented her as he offered his arm to her so he could escort her downstairs.

"Thank you Kal-El. Is Ethan here yet?" she had not seen him since the day before because Mrs. Lane insisted she sleep at their house to save on travel and preparation time.

"He's downstairs waiting for us."

***********

"Ladies and gentlemen, students of the Midvale School of Girls, Principal Ed Danvers, it is my greatest pleasure to present to you, our debutante, Ms. Linda Lee, escorted by her cousin Clark Kent." she heard Mr. Lane introduce her while she and Kal-el waited for their cue to come down the stairs.

Ethan immediately looked up the steps from the corner step where he was standing. He was not sure if it was just his eyes but Linda seemed to have been spotlighted by an almost heavenly glow. She looked so happy as she walked down the stairs. Her beauty filled the room much to the envy of her classmates and others there. There was only one word to describe the beauty that emanated from within her that night -- ethereal.

She had her eyes locked upon him as she walked down the stairs. He was clean shaven and dressed in a rental tuxedo similar to Clark's. Where Clark looked like her respectable older brother, Ethan looked every bit the part of the young man who had captured a very special young lady's heart. Together, they looked very much like a youthful couple enjoying the love they shared together. Nothing else in the world existed for them except each other.

"Her official escort for the night..." Mr. Lane continued. "is Mr. Ethan Logan."

The room filled with applause as Ethan and Linda worked the room to welcome the guests.

"Linda, I have never seen you more beautiful than you do tonight." he breathed his words into her ear as they made their way to the debutante's table.

She squeezed his hand to let him know she heard what he said. The eyes that looked at him were filled with so much happiness that night. A far cry from the sadness that had existed just a week ago when she stood crying in their kitchen.

**********

"May I cut in?" Dean asked while Clark and Linda shared a slow dance.

"Of course. But remember, she has a boyfriend." Clark warned him.

"Clark!" Linda was officially embarassed.

"No worries." Dean assured him taking his place.

Linda glanced in Ethan's direction and looked at him in a way that told him to back off. The last thing she wanted was for the male egos to ruin her night.

"Happy birthday Linda." He tried to kiss her again on the cheek but this time she avoided him.

"Dean, you are a very good friend." she began to explain. "But I am with Ethan and I don't want to do anything to make him mad. He has accepted you as my friend. Please don't push it."

"But won't you even entertain the notion that you could love someone else?" he asked her as they danced towards the door leading to the pool where others from her school were dancing.

"I can't Dean. I'm sorry. You can't understand our relationship." she tried to let him down easy as they got closer to the pool.

"Then at least stop teasing me and give me a kiss." he lunged for her lips.

She pushed him away and turned to walk away from him. "Oh no you don't!" he grabbed her by the arm.

With a burst of strength, she broke free of his grip and walked into the at Linda's table saw what happened. Jimmy held Ethan back from approaching Dean. "Bad. idea." he warned.

"Let me handle this." Lucy told him. She got up and followed Linda who had gone up to the rooms. Lucy found her in her bedroom which they were using as the dressing room for the night.

"What happened back there?" she asked. Linda was sitting infront of the dresser table and staring at herself.

"Lucy, you were right. I made a mistake thinking Dean was just a friend. He wants more. Something that I can't give him." Linda turned toward her friend and starting letting her hair out of the bun.

"The party isn't over Linda. You can't change your clothes yet." She approached her and fixed up the hair again.

"I'm not in the mood anymore. Dean will be causing problems and Ethan will need to be restrained again." she complained.

"How about if I talk Dean into leaving the party?" Lucy suggested as she clipped the bun again.

"Isn't that rude?"

"The beauty of owning the house the party is held in is that I can send the troublemakers 's go. You can stay at the table while I sort this out." she told Linda.

Dean was dancing with a girl from Midvale School when Lucy found him. "Dean, a moment please?"

She led him away from the dance floor and to an area where Linda could see them from the table.

"You have to leave Dean. You upset Linda with your actions."

"Upset her? She upset me! That flirt!"

"Watch it Dean. You are on thin ice."

"Tell you friend I am not leaving and if her boyfriend doesn't like it, he can go jump in the lake." he started back to the dance floor.

"I'm warning you. Don't try to break them up." Lucy blocked his path.

"Who's gonna stop me from breaking them up?" Ethan sneered as he pushed Lucy aside.

Linda had heard enough. She decided that Kara needed to deal with Dean. Excusing herself from the table, she snuck into the bushes and set upward in flight. Kara rounded the sky over the Lane residence, picked out Dean from the crowd by sight and swooped down on him. Lifting him into the sky with her.

"What? Supergirl?" he asked in disbelief.

"Dean, why can't you take no for an answer. Linda already told you she did not want to get serious with you. Why not just take the friendship she offers?"

"Are you kidding? My parents own this town. There is no girl here that I can't have. " he bragged.

"Well, Linda has made it clear that you can't have her. So deal with it." Kara said irritatedly.

"That's what you say. But I can change her mind." he replied overconfidently.

"Look, leave Linda and Ethan alone. They are my friends and if you do anything to ruin their relationship..."

"Your friends? Since when? Nobody even knows who you are." he argued.

"Dean, just listen to me and back off. I won't be responsible for anything that happens next." Supergirl warned him.

"What will you do?" he goaded her.

"This!" she dropped him directly into the center of the swimming pool. Splashing water that thankfully did not wet too many guests.

Hearing the splash in the pool, everybody rushed out of the house.

"Where's Linda?" Clark asked after seeing Dean swimming to the steps of the pool. Lucy pointed upward to the sky to answer his question.

"Oh Kara." Clark muttered while holding back a laugh.

Indeed, Kara looked every bit of a woman already but she was still a child at heart. This would be a long growing up process for her. Clark decided he would have to talk to her about how she used her powers from now on.

**********

The party finally ended about 2 A.M. but Ethan and Linda had a small party of their own when they got back to their house. They were cuddling on the couch for a while before going up to their respective rooms. Linda was still very excited over the nights events and could not stop talking about it. Ethan had to produce the box that he had hidden in the pantry to make her keep quiet long enough for him to say what he needed to tell her.

"My gift has a personal meaning Linda. That's why I waited till now to give it to you." he told her producing the ribbon trimmed jewelry box.

"Ethan, you did not have to get my anything. You've done so much for me already." Linda tried to refuse the gift.

"Open it." he placed the box in her hands. And clasped her fingers over it.

Smiling brightly at him, she tore open the wrapper and fumbled with the box till she found the clasp that unlocked to open it. "It's wonderful!"

He took the necklace out of the box and clasped it around her neck. "It is just something to remember this night by." He explained as she let the hair that she held up settle back down.

"I love it Ethan. I think I can guess why you picked the color gemstones and setting. I will always treasure it. Now I will always be reminded that your heart is always at home, here with me." she told him contendly as she sank into his loving arms.


	10. The Proposal

**DISCLAIMER:** Characters in this story remain the property of DC Comics, Inc. Movie copyrights and trademarks are owned by Alexander & Ilya Salkind, Warner Bros. Pictures, and TriStar Pictures. The story contained herein is meant only for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from the story. No infringement is intended. I offer this fan fiction as a tribute to the creative teams involved in the actual production of both the movie and comic. However, I reserve the right to any original characters I create for the purpose of fan fiction story telling.

**The Proposal**

Months passed and seasons changed within Kara's life. She saw the spring that gave birth to lovely flower blossoms and bright green leaves on trees that came to full bloom during the summer. Then she experienced the dreary Fall weather that turned the tree leaves brown and cluttered their small backyard with leaves and branches at the end of its life. As the Winter season approached, Ethan marveled at how much his life had changed during the time that Kara had become a permanent fixture in it.

He was a changed man because of her. His desire to make sure that she was cared for and never wanting taught him the value of saving his money instead of spending it on vices like he used to. In all the time they had been together, he never once let her spend on anything they needed. No matter how hard it was for him to finance their needs. Somehow he always managed to provide. Maybe it was because Kara had no desire for things like the other women he knew. Maybe it was because she was really satisfied with what he could provide.

But there was still something missing. The promise he made to honor the Kryptonian traditions in their set up was really beginning to get to him. He wanted more from her but was afraid of what she would do if he pressured her. She was not the kind of girl one took lightly and played with. The more he learned about her and their ways, the more he realized he had to do right by her if he wanted to have more of her.

As they prepared breakfast that morning, he found himself staring at her more intently while she prepared the coffee and he set the table. Had she blossomed overnight? She would be graduating from Midvale School that Summer. Maybe the timing was just right? He was almost sure that he had another visit to Clark in order.

She set the coffee pot on the table and sat down next to him. He watched her eat. Was now the right time?

"Don't be crazy Ethan. Everything has to be just perfect when you do this." he told himself while he took a sip of his coffee.

Kara looked his way and smiled, offering him a plate of scrambled eggs. "Deep thoughts?"

"Just thoughts of you." he lightly ran his finger on her cheek before he took the plate.

***********

"Linda! Wait up!" Lucy hollered in the dorm hall as she tried to catch up with her friend. They had both just returned to the school after the week-end.

"Did you see the announcement?" she asked while Linda unlocked their room.

"What announcement?" Linda pushed the door open and let Lucy go in first since she had more bags on hand.

"The Christmas Dance. It's in 2 weeks. Then we have the rest of December off until fir first week of January for the holidays."

"I don't know how to dance." she told Lucy while changing into more comfortable clothes.

"You don't know how? Doesn't Ethan ever take you out dancing? Wait a minute, you danced at your debut and you were fine." Lucy reminded her.

"I looked like a headless chicken. Don't deny it. I saw the video." Linda replied cringing at the memory of her odd dance routine during her party. The guests were kind enough not to laugh at her.

"Well, you have to forget that and get ready. We are going to a ball. So you better tell Ethan to clear that Friday night and rent a tux. Tell him Jimmy is waiting for his call. They can get a 2 for one rental at this place Jimmy knows. Mom says she can help us pick out a dress for you since she assumes we will be shopping together." Lucy continued as she crashed onto her bed to rest.

"I wish I did not have to bother your mom every time." Linda was really embarrassed that Mrs. Lane was always being drafted into caring for her.

"Hey, don't let mom hear you talking that way. You are the daughter she never had and the sister I wish I had. In other words, you are family. An honorary Lane."

**********

The Christmas Ball would be the perfect time for Ethan to set his plans into action. But he was not going to talk to Clark until he was sure that he could pull it off by then. First he needed to find the perfect accessory for Linda to wear. He knew exactly what he wanted to get for her but somehow the jewelry shops at the mall could not provide his vision.

As luck would have it, his job took him into the Midvale Park for some tree pruning for the cold months. Working near the Midvale pond, a glimmering stone caught his eye. It was an odd but nice shape for a silver gemstone that was stuck within the bark of a tree he was cutting down. He had a hell of time trying to pry it out of the tree bark, none of his cutting equipment seemed to be able to free the stone. Everything was worth the effort when finally pried out and the saw the whole stone out in the light.

"Perfect." he smiled as he held it up against the light. It shimmered so brightly that it made his eyes hurt. He slipped it into his tool-bag pocket for safekeeping.

He pulled his truck up at the the mall on the way home. Back at Stylus Jeweler's he asked to see the best ring settings they had for special occasions. Finding one setting he liked in particular, he produced the stone from his pocket and laid it on the glass counter.

"Can you turn this into that in 2 weeks?" he asked.

**********

"Every time you ask me to meet you without letting Kara know I get nervous." Kal-El told Ethan. They were having lunch at Popeye's on Ethan's invitation.

"Why so?" he asked between bites.

"The last time we met like this you asked for permission to take care of Kara for me. You moved her into the house, became her room mate and her boyfriend at the same time. I think I know what comes next."

"So then you know what I am thinking?"

"I think so. I always thought Lois and I would do it first but I don't mind Kara ending up with you if that is what you both want. You've been through a lot together." he replied before taking a sip of his soda.

"I haven't done a shabby job have I?" Ethan asked.

"You've done a great job.I don't think she would have gotten over her grief without you there. She seems to take strength from knowing you are there for her. I just wish that Kara was not so pigeon holed into this relationship. I mean, she still has her life ahead of her. She can still go to college and experience more of life. As far as I am concerned, it is too soon. But then the final decision is Kara's"

"So you would rather I don't propose to your cousin?" he had hoped the conversation would not turn out this way.

"No. Go ahead and propose. It is her decision. Just, let me talk to her before you do it okay?" If Kara was going to go and get engaged, Kal-El was going to make sure that she knew what she was getting into.

"That's fine with me." Ethan assured him. He dunked the fried chicken into the gravy and took a big bite.

"When do you plan to do this?"

"Next week at the Christmas Ball."

**********

"Kal-El, open up. " Kara knocked on the window to Kal-El's apartment. Since Kal-El had limited the use of her powers to non flying emergencies, the only chance she had to improve her flying ability was when he asked her to come to his apartment. Kal-El dealt with all emergency situations that required flying because he was afraid that the recklessness he observed during her battle with Selena would hurt an innocent. He was just being cautious he told her. Eventually, she would fly side by side with him in battle again. She floated for a few minutes before he finally came an opened the window so she could glide in.

"I know I am late but Dean has been giving me hell at the restaurant ever since Supergirl dropped him into the pool at my party. Plus, I have that dance committee volunteer thing that Lucy signed us for. I don't seem to have much time these days."

"We always knew he was a jerk. I am glad to know you have other social activities though. Keep it up kid." Kal-El answered motioning for her to take a seat on the couch. He turned off the tv set in order to have absolute quiet.

"So, why do you need me here?"

"I picked these up for you today. You might want to read it over and decide on your future." he pointed to the college information packets on the coffee table.

"College applications? You mean I am not yet done studying?" She wondered how many years humans actually spent on their educational process. In Argo City, she would have been considered an Elder apprentice by now. One of the most learned people in the city.

"You just turned 18 Kara. You have at least 4 more years of college to go before you can stop." Kal-el explained.

"4 more years???"

"That is how long it takes to become specialized in a field of study on Earth. I studied Journalism for 4 years. Do you know what you want to be?" This was the talk that he had promised Ethan he would have with Kara. Obviously, it was not a conversation to convince her to get married.

"I don't know Kal-El. What more can I be?" she wondered aloud while she scanned the pamphlets.

"Whatever and whoever you want to be Kara. There are no limitations for anybody on this planet. Take those home with you. Read it, study it. Ask me, Lois, Lucy, or anybody if you have any questions."

"I am sure Ethan will help me sort this out."

"Let's not let Ethan know about this just yet. You may want to surprise him." Kal-El advised her.

**********

The school gym was converted into a Winter Wonderland for what turned out to be a Black and White ball as all the women paraded in their black gowns and the men showed off their white suits.

Ethan seemed extra nervous that night. He fidgeted each time Linda rested her head upon his chest when they slow danced. He tried to hold her away from his body each time she got too close to him. She wondered if she had offended him in some way. He seemed preoccupied and anxious.

"Are you really popping the question tonight ?" Jimmy wanted to know while they got drinks for the girls at the refreshments table.

"Yep. There's no better time than tonight." Ethan replied nervously.

"So why do you look like you are about to take a test that you forgot to study for?"

"I am just afraid she might say no."

"She has never said no to you Ethan. She said yes to moving in with you, without the perks, she said yes to getting a car... Wait a minute, are you just proposing for the perks?"

"You have got to be kidding me Jimmy. You should know by now that it never figures into our relationship. I have held out this long for her, I can hold out some more."

"So what makes you think she might say no?"

"I saw some college application forms in the car. She's got other plans." he explained in a worried tone.

"Well, Lucy is going off to college too. So it is only logical that Linda would probably do the same."

"I don't want to lose her man."

"You don't know that for sure." Jimmy handed him the punch cup he had ladled out for Linda.

**********

They joined Lucy and Jimmy for a midnight beach walk after the ball. Linda recognized the beach as the one where she flew Ethan to the first time she was on Earth. He got knocked out in the bump car that he had sought safety in after Selena used him as bait for Supergirl in the carnival. She landed them on this very beach because it looked so safe and serene to her. It was the same feeling she was having at the moment. The night was just perfect.

As they walked hand in hand along the shoreline, they started talking about their future. What they saw their lives like in 5 years and all those things that young people in love dream about. He told her that his plans all depended upon her own. That he felt that their lives were permanently intertwined now and they would be together for life.

"Kara, I need to know you will always be in my life. No more flying off and leaving me a broken man." he told her as the waves lapped at their toes. Their clothes were already wet from sitting in the path of the waves.

She got a different kind of warmth from hearing him call her by her birth name. It reminded her of she really was and that in their relationship, names did not matter. "I'll always be with you Ethan. I am not leaving you anymore." she assured him.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I love you too much to leave you ever again." she answered. She lay her head on his shoulder and yawned.

There was silence between then for a while. Each one of them seemed to be lost in their own thoughts.

"Kara?"

"Humm?"

**********

Lucy and Jimmy were walking towards them with a torch lamp in hand. They saw Ethan stand up and then get down on one knee.

"Oh my God! Jimmy! Is he! Will he?" Lucy could not find a way to finish her sentences in her excitement.

'Yep. He's been planning it for weeks."

**********

"What are you doing Ethan?" Kara had seen scenes like this in the movies and on television shows before but she never imagined being involved in one herself.

"Kara, I know that we've been so happy together that it scares me. I have proven myself to you. I have kept my word each time I made a promise to you. You always tell me how happy I make you. I have never been happier and so content in my life as well. We make a good team. Somehow I know that we are meant to be together for the rest of our lives. After everything we have been through, we deserve nothing less. The thought that I might lose you... So I was thinking, why don't we make it official? Let's be together forever, bound by the laws of God and man." he got down on one knee and immediately sunk into the wet sand. He had to stop to balance himself on the slippery surface. He was going to get this right even if it drowned him.

"Are you under a spell again?" she joked nervously referring to the time when he kept proposing marriage to her while he was under the love spell that Selena had cast. He told her then that a simple gardener could make a rich girl very happy. If he only knew how happy he made her by just being with her. Now, he was proposing again. Was it something she had to take seriously?

"I'm not kidding Kara. I'd marry you under Kryptonian Law except I don't know anybody who can do the ceremony. Kal-El hasn't the faintest idea of what to do for such a ceremony. That's how serious I am about this."

He reached into his breast pocket and produced a small velvety soft box. Opening it before her he asked "Kara Zor-El, will you marry me?"

Kara looked at the ring and then at Ethan. The expression on her face betrayed what was going on in her mind. What just happened? Was he really proposing to her? Was this what she wanted in her life? Or did she want more? What was the right answer?

Somewhere along the shoreline Lucy's screams of excitement could be heard.


	11. Indecision

**DISCLAIMER:** Characters in this story remain the property of DC Comics, Inc. Movie copyrights and trademarks are owned by Alexander & Ilya Salkind, Warner Bros. Pictures, and TriStar Pictures. The story contained herein is meant only for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from the story. No infringement is intended. I offer this fan fiction as a tribute to the creative teams involved in the actual production of both the movie and comic. However, I reserve the right to any original characters I create for the purpose of fan fiction story telling.

**Indecision**

Kara knew all about the duties that would be expected of her if she accepted his proposal. something inside her wanted to say yes immediately but the voice of Kal-El broke through her thoughts . "You can be whatever and whoever you want to be Kara."

So now the question before her was "Is this what she wanted to be?" Was she willing to dive headlong into marriage at this point in her life? Had she possibly experienced everything that a human could experience in so short a time? Was she ready to be all human and surrender that which made her special? No more Supergirl? No more using her powers? In her mind, that is what it meant to be human. No, this was not a decision she could make sitting on wet sand. The expression on her face showed her indecision.

"Linda, I'm asking you to marry me." Ethan explained. He chose to call her by her earth name in order to signify that he did not care who she was and what her name was.

"I know Ethan. I know." she looked away from him, not really knowing what to say.

"It's just a yes or no question Linda." he closed the box and put it back into his breast pocket.

"Nothing is ever that simple for me. You should know that." she stood up and shook off the sand from her wet skirt. Something told her to walk away from him.

"What's the problem? You said you were never going to leave me right? So, let's do it. What's stopping you?" he walked after her.

"Kara! Will you wait a minute and talk to me?" Ethan grabbed her by the wrist and forced her to face him.

"It's not you Ethan. It's me. I don't know if I can..."

"What is there to know? Nothing changes after we get married." He reasoned.

"Listen, I know that we are practically married. I mean, we live in the same house on week-ends and do everything together except for engaging in physical intimacy. This is a big deal for me. You are asking me to give up who I am." she tried to contain all her emotions while she spoke.

"Give up who you are? What the hell are you talking about? How can I change who you are? That is impossible!" He had never spoken so roughly to Kara ever since they met but their discussion was starting to really irritate him for some reason. He never asked her to change anything about her. He loved her exactly the way she was. What would make her think such things?

"Ethan, please try to understand. I have only been human for months compared to your lifetime. I have a lot of things to reconcile between my past life and this new one. You can't expect me to change overnight."

"You're not making any sense Linda!" he pulled harder on her to make her stop walking away. But she was using her strength against him now and nothing he did to keep her where he could talk to her was working.

"Somehow I feel like you are asking me to choose between becoming human and remaining a Kryptonian You can't make me choose!" she finally said.

"Nobody is asking you to choose between anything! Who filled your head with all these ideas?" he sounded really exasperated as he rubbed his face in frustration.

"That's another thing. I think I want to go to college before I do anything this serious. I've been considering it."

"Linda, you can do all of those things. You don't have to give up anything for me. I have never and would never ask that of you."

The waves thrashing upon the beach seemed to mimic the tempers that were about to flare up between the two of them.

"Kal-El told me I can be anything I want to be. Be whoever I want to be. But I am not sure being your wife is who I want to be."

"If you are trying to hurt me Linda, you are doing a pretty good demolition job!" he shouted at her for the first time in their relationship.

"Ethan, you know I would never hurt you!"

"Really? So what do you call this?"

"Ethan, just because I said yes to everything you decided for us before does not mean that I would never say no. " she tried to explain.

"So you are saying you won't marry me?" He was shaking in disappointment. Or was it anger? Why was she choosing to hurt him this way?

"No, I am not saying that... Don't confuse me!"

"Linda!"

"Ethan! Until I sort out who I really am, if I am willing to be just Linda and give up being Kara, I cannot answer your question! Right now, right this minute, I am Kara!" she broke out of his grip and ran away from him, changing into Supergirl in the process and taking flight.

Jimmy and Lucy came over to him when they saw him lose strength and fall to his knees. He looked up at them and said "Kara or Linda, it doesn't matter to me. She will always be the girl I love."

"Let's get you home pal." Jimmy helped him up.

**********

Kal-El was also in the sky at the same time. He was flying home after stopping a bank robbery at the Metropolis National Bank when he saw the familiar figure of Kara zooming through the air headed for his apartment. He sped up to catch up with her.

"Kara!" He called out to her.

She pulled back in mid-flight and hung in the air as she waited for him. Taking a moment to wipe her tears away with her sleeves, she knew that he would lecture her for taking flight with her mind pre-occupied if he saw the tears. But he didn't. He seemed to be expecting her. He signaled for her to fly beside him towards his home.

"I take it Ethan proposed?" he asked her as he helped her step into the room from the window sill.

"You knew Kal-El?" the surprise in her voice was evident.

"Do you really think he could have without my permission?" he asked her as he disappeared into his room to change into his pajamas.

"I wish you had told me." she complained when he came back with an oversized shirt for her to change into. Her gown had soaked her flying clothes through the secret pouch within her skirt where she kept her alter ego clothes during necessary times.

"Tell you what? Kara, I cannot make decisions for you. Nor should I influence them. I can merely advise you." he explained as she disappeared into the bathroom to change. He went into the kitchen to make them some hot drinks.

"But that is what I came here for tonight Kal-El. What should I do?" she pleaded with him for help.

"What should you do? You are the only one who can answer that question. It is your life Kara. You will have to live it. The choice is yours." he handed her a cup of hot cocoa.

"My choice? My choices are, to be human or to be Kryptonian. That was not what I was told by my parents when they sent me here."

"You don't have to choose to be one or the other Kara. You can be both. That was the choice I made."

"But, I was entrusted with the secrets of our race when I was sent here. My duty was clear. To keep the traditions of Krypton alive within my heart and being." she explained to him as she opened the cookie jar and took one out.

"And you have done that Kara. You will continue to do that. Believe me, you will."

"So why don't I feel like I can?"

"Indecision is a human trait. You are becoming more human than Kryptonian I guess."

"But what if I don't want to stop being Kryptonian? What if I don't want to be Mrs. Ethan Logan Morrison? What if I want to go to college?"

"Remember what I told you?"

"I can be anything I want to be?"

"Exactly."

"You are not helping! I don't know who or what I want to be!"

"There is only one thing you can do to help you decide." he began to suggest. It was a risk that he hoped his cousin would be willing to take.

"I am open to all suggestions." she sounded frustrated.

"Leave Ethan."

"What?"

"Leave him. Move out. Stay with me or the Lane's. You have to get away from him in order to clear your thoughts and think properly. Staying with him impairs your judgment because of your feelings for him. You need neutral territory." he told her matter of factly.

"I don't know if I can. That would be like asking me to cut out a part of my heart." she felt a lump in her throat at the thought of not being able to go home to the house and see Ethan smiling at the backyard door greeting her when she landed on Friday nights. This was her home they were talking about. Her heart's home.

"Your choice. Nobody can force you to do anything. Will you be sleeping on the couch?" he asked her.

**********

Lucy and Jimmy did not leave Ethan's side. Niether of them contradicted him when he asked them to stop at the convenience store to pick up some beer. Jimmy told Lucy that this was one time his friend deserved a few rounds. He was venting his frustrations at them. Accusing Kara of betraying their love, using him, and a host of other unfounded accusations.

"He's too drunk Jimmy. We need to get Linda back here to take care of him." Lucy whispered to Jimmy when Ethan went back to the kitchen for another six pack.

"Got any bright ideas about where she flew off to?"

"Just one. Try to make him stop drinking okay? I'll be right back." she scurried up to Linda's room to use the extension phone.

"Clark, is Linda there? Tell her she needs to come home. Ethan needs her. No, don't let her sleep over. She needs to come back here and fix this!" Lucy put the phone down before Clark could utter another word.

**********

Jimmy had helped Ethan get changed and into bed by the time Linda made it back home. Lucy brought her up to date with Ethan's situation before bringing her to his room.

"Ethan, Linda's home." Jimmy whispered to his half asleep friend.

"Who? Oh her." he said as she stood over his bed. Concern filled her heart as she realized how broken he had become in just a few hours. She wondered if he was devastated the same way the first time she left him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her turning his head away from her.

"Ethan..."

"I thought you did not want to be with me?"

"I never said that Ethan. What's wrong with you?" she signaled to Jimmy and Lucy that she would take it from there. They slowly backed out of the room and closed the door.

"What's wrong with me? You broke my heart Linda. I never thought you could hurt me this way. Not after everything we went through. Not after everything I did for you. I thought we meant more to each other." he turned over in bed so that his whole body faced away from her.

"I told you, I just need time to sort myself out." she tried to explain as she sat on a corner of the bed.

"Do whatever you want. I don't care."

"What happened to "no pressure" Ethan?" she asked him.

"I thought you were ready."

"You were obviously wrong."

He was silent once again. The same way he was when they argued about Dean. She was now reliving one of the worst fights they had in her mind. Only this time, she knew they were not going to make up. She knew that Kal-El was right.

"Ethan, give me the ring." she requested him.

"What?" he sat upright in bed. A smile slowly brightening his face.

"Give me the ring." she repeated.

He stumbled out of bed and fumbled with his coat pocket. Producing the ring he sat next to her and took her hand. He looked at her long, slender, and graceful fingers before slipping the ring onto it. He did not see the sadness registering on her face as he went through the motion.

She held her hand out in front of her and stared at the ring. A cold feeling suddenly swept over her. A sense of forboding that she never felt before.

"What's wrong?" Ethan asked her as he nudged her out of her hypnotized state.

"Nothing. Nothing." she stood up and tried to think of the best way to tell him what she had to do. For herself more than anything else.

"Ethan, I will wear this ring but, I am not saying that I will marry you."

He looked like he was going to burst in anger at her. "Wait! Wait! Let me explain!"

"I am listening." he told her.

"There is a reason I asked to wear the ring. I will be moving out for a few days. I need to think. I will stay with the Lane's. Lucy will tell her parents to expect me when she gets home tonight. I will move out in the morning. I just need a few days Ethan. Please try to understand me." she felt a distinct stab through her heart as the words escaped her lips. She knew a portion of her would always stay in this very house no matter where she moved and for whatever reason she needed to leave.

Ethan sat on the bed without moving or talking. He just stared at her. Would this be best for them? What if she met someone? What if Dean took advantage of his absence? Regardless of his fears, he would have to trust her. Trust in their love. Only by taking the pressure off her would he be able to prove that they were meant to be together.

"How long will you be gone?" the sadness in his voice pained Linda to hear. He was not even going to try to stop her.

"A few weeks. I will be back before exams. This is the only place where I can study in peace." she assured him.

Could he survive not seeing her for a few weeks? "Promise me you will be here when I come home?"

"Where else would I be Linda? Our hearts rememeber? This is the only place where..."

"Our hearts are at home because our love lives here." she rushed towards him, kneeling in front of him, willing him to kiss her for what might be the last time. It was a kiss so pure that she almost changed her mind about taking time to think about his proposal. His kisses always had a way of clouding her mind and judgment.

"Come back to me Linda." He whispered in heartbreak as she disappeared behind the closing door.


	12. At The Crossroad

**DISCLAIMER:** Characters in this story remain the property of DC Comics, Inc. Movie copyrights and trademarks are owned by Alexander & Ilya Salkind, Warner Bros. Pictures, and TriStar Pictures. The story contained herein is meant only for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from the story. No infringement is intended. I offer this fan fiction as a tribute to the creative teams involved in the actual production of both the movie and comic. However, I reserve the right to any original characters I create for the purpose of fan fiction story telling.

**At The Crossroad**

Ethan was still asleep when Linda slipped out of the house to move to the Lane's. She felt it was the best way to get away from him. She knew that her resolve to follow Clark's advice would be melted the minute he looked at her with his doe like eyes. She was hurting more than if he had been the one to hurt her physically and emotionally.

Being torn between who she was, who she now was, and who she could be left her afraid. Afraid that she would make the wrong choices in her life on a planet that was not her own, in a life that she had yet to fully understand. Why did he have to go and propose to her? Their life was fantastic before he did that. Now, she was lost again and worse, she had lost the only person who was her beacon during her dark nights. Would she ever be able to correct this? What was the answer to everything that was boggling her mind?

Taking only the schoolbooks that she needed to complete the week-end homework, she flew to Lucy's place without even peeking into Ethan's room. They had made plans for her to land in the backyard before her parents woke up so that they would not see her in her alter ego identity.

"You flew in just in time. They will be up in an hour." Lucy whispered to her as Kara came to a soft landing beside her.

Taking her friend's schoolbooks, she pointed to the cabana and told her to change her clothes there before coming into the house.

Breakfast was a noisy affair at the Lane's. Linda and Lucy sat in the living area while her parents set about making breakfast.

"Remembering something?" Lucy nudged her when she noticed Linda staring at her parents who were setting the dining table not too far from the living area. She was remembering something. Ethan would be awake by now too. She should be at home helping him make breakfast. He could never get the toaster to work right. The bread slices always came out as charcoal bricks.

"Girls! Breakast!" Mrs. Lane hollered from the kitchen where the smell of freshly brewed coffee was permeating the air.

Turning off the tv, the two young women made their way to the dining room for a breakfast that made Linda remember Ethan even more. Coffee and scrambled eggs with toast. His favorite.

While the family got into an active discussion of how Lucy would celebrate her graduation with a disco party at the house, Mrs. Lane noticed that Linda was staring into her plate. Her mind was obviously not in the room with them.

"Linda dear, you haven't touched your food."

She continued to stare, not hearing anything.

"Linda..." Lucy elbowed her friend back to reality.

Lucy was already dreading the school week. If her best friend was going to be stuck in a catatonic state in every class, she would have to run interference at every turn. And with exams coming up...

"Oh, sorry. The eggs are delicious." Linda smiled at her hosts, taking a big forkful of eggs into her mouth.

The couple glanced at each other with a pitiful look meant for Linda. Lucy had already told them what had happened the night before. Allowing Linda to stay with them was their way of helping her. They knew she did not have any real parental figure. Clark did not know anything about raising a girl. Otherwise he would not have agreed to let her become room mates with her boyfriend. They still had their doubts about that set up but kept it to themselves. Now Linda needed parents and they hoped that by having her stay with them, they would be able to help her sort things out.

**********

Lucy invited her to take a swim before they buckled down to their schoolwork. Linda was apprehensive at first because she had never swam before and she did not have a suit.

"You can wear Lois' suit, you are almost the same size. Don't worry about swimming, it is just like flying only you move your legs up and down like scissors and you move your arms in a circular motion. It's a piece of cake for somebody like you."

She was right, Linda did super laps in pool without realizing it until she heard the water start to splash out of the pool.

"Sorry!" she told Lucy who was sitting on the ledge of the pool now and shaking water out of her ears.

**********

Mrs. Lane had ordered her to take an afternoon nap in order to recover from lack of sleep from the night before. She did not know that Linda never got tired. So when she peeked into the room of Lois that Linda had comandeered for the duration of her visits, Linda was just lying on the bed with her eyes wide open. She had a look of confusion and despair on her face, she had never seen such a lovelorn face on a young woman before.

"Linda, are you awake?" she pretended to ask.

"Oh, come in Mrs. Lane." Linda replied as she pulled herself upright on the bed.

"I was wondering if there is anything you need?"

"Well, if you don't mind, I need advice." Linda told her.

"About Ethan?"

"Him and what I should do with my life." Linda added.

Mrs. Lane took her place by the window seat, signifying that she was there to listen if Linda wanted to talk.

"I am just so confused! Clark thinks I should go to college and Ethan wants us to get married, and I have no idea what I want out of this life that I now have. There is so much pressure, I have a family tradition to continue and I don't know how Ethan can figure into Clark is right, maybe I should just break up with Ethan and go off to college." she sounded very desperate.

"I can see why Clark would advise you to get away from Ethan and go off to college. But the only thing that matters right now is you, what you want and how you want to do it." Mrs. Lane answered.

"That is just it. Why do I have to choose? Why can't I be everything all at once?"

"You can be if that is what you want to do. It will be hard but if you put your mind to it, I don't see why you should fail." Mrs. Lane encouraged her.

"I can go off to college, become a journalist like Clark, carry on a family tradition and still be happy in love?" Linda asked in disbelief.

"Of course. You don't have to go out of state for college, you are 18 now. If you want to get married, nobody can stop you. You can study right here in Midvale if you don't want Ethan to leave his job. You can be in love, married, with a family, and have an education. You can have it all if that is what you choose to have."

"But how do I do it?"

"That is something only you can answer." Mrs. Lane advised while she got up from the seat and began to straighten out the study table that held Linda's unfinished homework.

"Mrs Lane, how did you know that it was time for you to get married? How did you know Mr. Lane was the one for you?" she asked hoping that it would answer all the doubts she had in her mind.

She turned to face Linda then with a motherly look on her face. She felt sorry for Linda. She was an orphan who needed her parents most at this time. Not that Clark was not trying to do his part. But there were just some things in life that a young woman needs her mother's advice on. Things like love and marriage.

She sat on the bed beside her. "Mr. Lane was going to join the army at the time. Lois and Lucy spent most of their lives as army brats you know. Well, the week before he was to go off to the Vietnam war, he proposed to me. I thought it was very sweet of I was also disturbed by the proposal. We had only been dating 3 months before that and I was still a college junior. "

"So how did you know it was the right decision?" she queried hopefully.

"When he went back to the camp and I was alone in my room. I imagined my life without him and realized I did not see my future as clearly if he were not in it. When you can't see yourself living apart from Ethan, then you know you are ready." she gave Linda a motherly hug before she left the room.

"Mrs. Lane! Did you finish college?" Linda called after her as she opened the door to leave.

"With honors my dear." Mrs. Lane winked at her before walking out the door.

**********

"Can I see the rock?" Lucy asked when they got back to their dorm the next day. She refrained from asking to see the ring before they got into their room so as not to have the girls all giggling and crowding around Linda and demanding details of the proposal. Her parents had not realized that Linda was wearing an engagement ring because it did not look like one and she had told them that it was a gift from Clark.

Linda dropped onto the bed slugishly before holding her hand up for Lucy to ogle. "What rock is this? It isn't a diamond."

"I don't know Lucy, I did not have the time to ask him." she replied pulling her hand back.

"Wait!" Lucy caught her hand before she could fully pull away. "Did you know he had your S emblem carved into it?"

"What? No. I have tried not to look at the ring." Linda thought that the gesture proved even more that Ethan loved her no matter who she chose to be and accepted who she really was.

"You can see it clearly if you hold the ring at an angle. Otherwise, it looks just blended in to the gemstone. Can I try it on?" Lucy asked.

"Sure." Linda offered her hand back so Lucy could take the ring off. They wondered if the ring was the wrong size because Lucy could not pull it off.

Not even Linda, with all her super strength could take it off. She grabbed the ring by the setting and tried to pull it off. "Ouch!" she suddenly let go of her hand. She felt like she had been stung by a Kryptonian warrior ant. He finger carried a rash that burned deeply into her.

"What happened?" Lucy was concerned. The only other time Linda ever registered pain was when she was shot with Kryptonite.

"I don't know my own strength." Linda kidded. The sense of forboding seemed to be stronger now.

**********

Ethan was torn between visiting Linda at the dorm and giving her the space she was asking for. He was on the school grounds doing his work and he saw Linda running between classes. Usually, she would come over to him first and talk before she ran to her class. Checking to make sure he did not forget to eat, insist that he change his sweaty shirt, or anything that let him know how much she cared for him. She was his family. He never knew caring that way until she came into his life. But now she was obviously trying not to glance his way. She knew he would be standing there like he always did.

Is this what she had reduced him to? Looking at her from afar and her acting like she was being stalked by him? If he had only known that their perfect life would have changed this way, he would never even have tried to propose. He realized now that it wasn't the marriage that mattered to him. It was not physical intimacy, it was her, Kara, she was all that mattered in his was her love that kept him going. If he could only take the proposal back...

As he heard the lunch bell sound, he knew that she would have the afternoon off since it was a Wednesday. Usually, she flew to the house just to get some quiet time to herself. He would often drop in on her and keep her company until it was time for head check at the dorm, then she would fly back.

He wasn't going to last a few weeks this way. He needed her in his life. He needed to win her back. He had to tell her to forget the proposal. He would tell her it was a stupid move on his part and ask her to forgive him and take him back. He got into his truck and returned a few hours later with an armful of pink roses for her. Julie buzzed her room for him. It was Lucy who came down to talk to him.

"Ethan, you know she asked for time away from you." Lucy reminded him while they talked at the front desk.

"I know, I know. I just need to tell her something. If I could just have a moment with her?" he tried to coax Lucy.

"No way Ethan. Let her have her time. It will be best for both of you. Don't worry, I will look out for her." Lucy assured him.

He took a deep breath and looked at the flowers. "Will you make sure she gets these?"

"You got it." Lucy took the flowers from him and headed back to the room.

**********

"Ethan brought these for you. I told him you were not ready to see him yet." Lucy placed the flowers on the dresser table where Linda was getting herself ready to go to the cafeteria for dinner.

Linda did not see the flowers that Ethan had handed to Lucy. What sat on the table were a bunch of black roses. Death roses. Why would Ethan give her death roses? How dare he! She picked up what she saw to be wilted flowers and threw it into the trash.

"What did you do that for!" Lucy shouted at her. She bent to pick up the flowers. "You are wasting perfectly good flowers!"

"Flowers of death? Black flowers? What does he think he is trying to say?" Linda was visibly angry at Ethan.

Lucy looked at the flowers again and wondered what was going on with Linda. "If you don't want it then fine. I will put these in some water."

"Throw it away!" Linda demanded. She stormed out of the room and did not talk to Lucy for the rest of the night.

**********

"I don't know what came over her last night." Lucy was explaining to Ethan about Linda's reaction to his flowers. She went on to explain that Linda had been acting like a brat all day and her patience was really wearing thin. They were seated in the receiving area of the dorm without knowing that Linda was watching them through the floor from their 2nd floor room using her x-ray vision.

"I don't understand her. What did I do to make her so angry at me? I guess she really is serious about cooling off our relationship." Ethan said sadly as he stood up. It was obvious he would not be seeing Linda tonight either.

"Ethan, Linda doesn't know the first thing about the intricacies of human only knows and understands what you show her and what I explain to her. Don't judge her too harshly." Linda warned him, hurt that he would doubt the love her best friend carried for him.

"Make sure she at least reads this?" he handed Lucy the envelope.

"You bet." she replied as they exchanged good bye hugs.

_"How could they do this to me? How long have they been cheating on me?" _Linda's mind was showing her a picture different from what was actually happening. Her thoughts were filled with anger and jealousy at the thought of her boyfriend's and best friend's betrayal. How could Ethan hold Lucy that way and kiss her with the lips that Linda felt belonged only to her.

She pretended to busy herself with homework when Lucy returned to the room.

"Mail call Linda." she dropped the envelop on top of the book she was reading.

She opened the envelope. "_Dear Lucy, I love you --- Ethan."_

"Oh Lucy! How could you do this to me?" Linda dropped the card and jumped out the open window, flying off without a destination.

"What did I do?" Lucy ran to the window shouting. She picked up the card and read it.

_"My Karalinda, I miss you. My heart is waiting to come home -- Love, Ethan."_

Lucy was now definite that something was wrong with her best friend. It was time for her to talk to Clark. She left the room and went to the payphone outside the dorm building. They were not allowed to have private lines in the dorm rooms.

_"Hello, Clark? Lucy here. We have a problem. It's Linda. I do not think she is coping with the break up as well as we expected her to. Can you come over?"_


	13. Silver Kryptonite

**DISCLAIMER:** Characters in this story remain the property of DC Comics, Inc. Movie copyrights and trademarks are owned by Alexander & Ilya Salkind, Warner Bros. Pictures, and TriStar Pictures. The story contained herein is meant only for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from the story. No infringement is intended. I offer this fan fiction as a tribute to the creative teams involved in the actual production of both the movie and comic. However, I reserve the right to any original characters I create for the purpose of fan fiction story telling.

**Silver Kryptonite**

Clark was standing in Mrs. Murphy's office filling out a overnight pass so that Lucy could leave the dorm with him. It would have been impossible for them to discuss the situation in the open area of the receiving room. They were on their way out when Clark spotted Ethan's car coming up the driveway. The car stopped beside them.

"What happened to Linda?" He asked. One of his greatest fears was that she would once more be hit by green kryptonite and fall deathly ill as she had once in the past.

"That is what we are trying to figure out." Lucy answered.

"What do you mean?" he asked with growing concern.

"Ethan, you are welcome to join us. I think you will be able to answer the question. Can we go back to your house?" Clark asked.

"Hop in." Ethan replied unlocking the back door of the car.

----------

Clark untied his necktie and hung it on the dining chair. Their group had been thinking for more than 2 hours about what could have caused Linda to fly off the handle the way she had. This was more than just confusion. She was disillusioned with her friends for some reason and it seems, more disgruntled with her life.

"Lucy, are you sure Linda never said anything when she was at your place? This is simply not Krptonian behavior. " Clark wanted to be sure that they had not missed any warning signs from Linda.

"She talked to my mom about Ethan and college, but my mom just advised her about it. Mom says she looked very troubled when they were talking." she hoped the information would be able to help.

"This is all my fault." Ethan covered his face with his hands. What had he done to her? Why could he not have just left well enough alone?

"Don't say that buddy. We don't really know what happened. One thing for sure is that Linda is not on drugs. Human vices have no effect on us." Clark assured them.

"I should not have proposed. The ring, I should not have given it to her. It probably drove her mad to think about all the decisions she had to make." Ethan continued to blame himself.

The ring.

"Lucy, didn't you say that all of this happened after Linda touched the ring?" Clark suddenly had a suspicious feeling.

"Yes. It was really strange. She said she did not know her own strength. But I noticed a rash appear on her hand soon after." Lucy recalled as best as she could. It was almost midnight and she really wanted to go to bed. But her friend needed her right now. Sleep would have to wait.

"Ethan, the ring, where did you have it made?" Clark turned to Ethan who was balancing the chair akwardly off the floor.

"Stylus Jewelers. They made the ring specially for me. I found this gemstone in the forest during a job and --"

"Do you have the shavings or excess stones?" a light seemed to switch on in Clark's head.

"Yeah. They gave me parts they cut off. Why?"

"Get it for me. While you are at it, dress warmly and lend Lucy some sweaters to wear too. You're both going with me to the fortress." he had a sense of urgency for some reason.

"The fortress? Why?" Lucy asked worriedly, completely forgetting that the next day was a school day and she only had an overnight pass.

"I need to be sure first. My analyzing tools are there. I hope my suspicions are wrong." He explained worriedly.

"Give me 10 minutes to get everything together." Ethan told them. He jumped out of his seat and ran upstairs.

---------

"Father, I need your help." Kal-El spoke to awaken the Fortress of Solitude. Bright white and green lights turned on in response to his voice.

_"What is it my son?"_ the voice of Jor-El boomed across the hall.

"It's Kara. Something seems to be driving her to madness. We need to know what is causing it and how to stop it."

_"There is only one reason that a Kryptonian can be driven to madness. But it is impossible for that component to be found on this planet. It is something that existed only in Krypton."_

"Tell me father, what component is that?" Kal-El asked as he signalled Ethan to hand him the plastic with the stone shavings inside.

_"Silver Kryptonite. It causes severe psychosis in our kind by magnifying fears, pain, grief, and sadness. Many exposed Kryptonians were driven to end their own lives because of severe exposure. " _Jor-El explained in a monotone voice.

Being careful not to touch the shavings, Kal-El emptied the contents into one of the crystal vials, sealed it and placed it into the reading machine he had created in order to safely study the various types of kryptonite he had come into contact with over the years. Silver Kryptonite was something new to him.

It took only minutes for the results to come out. Kara had indeed been exposed to Silver Kryptonite.

"No!" Ethan screamed in pain. If Kara ended up dead he would never forgive himself.

"Father, please. I know there is a cure. Tell me what it is! the Silver Kryptonite is being worn by Kara on her finger. " Kal-El pleaded with the voice of his father.

_"The only cure would be to have 2 Kryptonian men subdue her to unconsciousness. During this time, you have only 5 minutes within which you must force her to subconsciously face all the fears and pain that she has been keeping inside her. If she defeats her inner demons, the ring shall fall off by itself."_

"But I am the only other Kryptonian on this planet!" Kal-El was desperate.

How could he save his only remaining relative? She was his last link to a past he never knew. She was the reason he now understood more about what it meant to be Kryptonian more than he ever could by studying the crystals that surrounded him. No, he would not accept that he could not save his cousin. He had saved her once before, he could do it again.

Lucy began sobbing upon hearing that the solution was unattainable. Linda was just beginning to live her life. They were sisters.

"Kal-El! We have to try something! Anything!"

Ethan sank onto an ice slab. Feeling defeated and hopeless. He had sentenced the woman he loved to definite death. There was nothing more that could be done. Unless...

"Your father said 2 Kryptonian men right?" he asked Kal-El as an idea formed within him.

"Yes. and unless you know where a stock of Krptonian beings are collected like mice for experiments, that plan won't work."

"What if it were possible for me to gain Kryptonian strength? Would that work?" he asked, almost sure that the solution was almost on hand.

"Maybe. It is worth a shot. What are you suggesting?"

He looked up at Kal-El. "We need to go see Nigel."

---------

"Are you sure this wizard can help us? He sounds like a quack to me." Clark asked as they drove over to Nigel's estate.

Nigel had cashed in on Kara's first visit to the planet and struck it rich. He had sold his story to the tabloids and news shows by showcasing his story as a mentor turned prisoner in the hands of Selena. Earning so much from the sales of his books chronicling the rise and demise of his former ward, he had gained enough wealth to quit his teaching job and be free of the "young hooligans" as he termed the students of Midvale School for Girls. Now he lived in the a very secured manor located on the outskirts of town. Ethan could only hope that he would talk to them.

There was a private road leading to the manor. Getting in was difficult as Nigel had an intercom buzzer at the gate. Those in the media who had visited him there for interviews always complained about the game of questions that was involved before he would unlock the automatic gates to allow others to enter.

Ethan pressed the buzzer and hoped for the best.

"Who dares disturb my slumber? Do you wish to turn into a human frog?" Nigel finally answered on the 6th buzz.

"Nigel, It's Ethan. You know you can't turn me into a frog. Who would tend to your gardens? Let me in. I need your help."

"Ah! Ethan! Of course, come in young lad. My lawn has been looking a bit brown lately." they heard the strong magnets holding the gates lock release and fall open.

----------

"You mean, that mousy haired classmate of yours is Supergirl?" Nigel could not believe the story that Lucy and Ethan were telling him. More unbelievable was that they wanted him to believe that the man standing before him in a coat and tie was actually Superman.

"Believe us Nigel. We would not lie to you. We really need your help. She needs our help." Ethan told him.

They were seated in his receiving room surrounded by sculptures of gargoyles in various poses that struck so much fear into Lucy that she latched onto Clark and never let go even after they had sat down on the antique looking leather sofa.

"I don't know anything about alien magic. I cannot help you." Nigel replied wondering why Ethan thought he could magically turn him into a Kryptonian. He went about straightening his books of spells and magic hoping to get an inspiration that might help them.

"Nigel, please, think. There must be something we can try. You know what we have to do. I believe in your capabilities. In your magic. We can't let her just go mad and die." Ethan pleaded, bowing his head in frustration.

Scanning the rest of his books, Nigel wondered if Ethan would be strong enough to survive the only solution he could think of. Nobody had successfully used the potion yet. Most of them ended up either driven to madness or dead.

"There is a plant that can probably give you what you want." He took out one of the leather bound books called "Mystical Plants of Witchcraft" and began to scan the pages. Finding the necessary page, he read it quickly and put the book down on the coffee table.

Walking over to the fireplace, he inverted the gargoyle head on the left side. A clicking sound followed and a hidden drawer slid into view below the gargoyle. He chose one bag of seeds and took it out of the holder.

"These are Virtus seeds. I acquired them during a trip to ancient ruins in Africa. Follow these instructions to the letter. With any luck, you will have the strength you need within 48 hours." Nigel was busy scribbling instructions for Ethan to follow.

"Fantastic!" Ethan said hopefully as he took the seeds and instructions from Nigel.

"Strength is one thing. How do you get her to confront her fears?" Lucy reminded them.

"That is where you come in Lucy. " Nigel addressed her as he held out another bag of seeds.

"These are bluebell, bleeding heart, and snapdragon leaves. Boil it and collect the smoke in a personal item of Kara while saying this spell:

_"Take the pain from within, it cannot remain here anymore."_

"Ethan, you will have to say a variation of the spell as you slam the item into her forehead. I have it written down for you. Hold it there until she is rendered unconscious. Do not let her go no matter how she struggles and becomes heavy to subdue and carry. That is very important." Nigel instructed him.

As the group headed out the door, Clark spoke to Nigel.

"It is my hope that these things you gave us will work. It is important that Kara survive this darkness."

"I feel guilty about Kara. Had I not encouraged Selena..."

"It was nobody's fault. This is her destiny. She must survive in order to live the life intended for her." Clark told him as they got into the car.

----------

As the car drove away, nobody noticed Kara step out from behind the trees. She was beginning to look haggard having flown all over Midvale without any destination in mind. There were voices in her head. Voices that she tried to drown out by flying as fast as she could. Now she could hear the voices telling her Lucy had betrayed her and turned Kal-El against her.

_"Lucy shall pay for stealing Ethan from me. I wonder if Jimmy knows about her unfaithfulness. I must tell him. Why was Kal-El with them? How easily she turned him against me." _she thought as she flew off without direction yet again.

She had heard everything they discussed. She would not let them touch her. She was not insane and she would prove it to them even if she had to fight Kal-El and Ethan to her death.


	14. Darkness Descends

**DISCLAIMER:** Characters in this story remain the property of DC Comics, Inc. Movie copyrights and trademarks are owned by Alexander & Ilya Salkind, Warner Bros. Pictures, and TriStar Pictures. The story contained herein is meant only for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from the story. No infringement is intended. I offer this fan fiction as a tribute to the creative teams involved in the actual production of both the movie and comic. However, I reserve the right to any original characters I create for the purpose of fan fiction story telling.

**Darkness Descends**

The pain inside her head was excruciating. She had two voices battling for control of her deep first one was telling her to destroy her friends and end the life of the man she loved for his betrayal. It was this voice that she tried to push out of her mind. She tried to remind herself of how much her friends had put up with in the past in order to protect her. How much Ethan had done to save her when she had almost died. These were not people who wished to do her harm.

"Get out of my head!" she screamed as she spun out of control while flying. The voices were getting louder with the passing of time. So loud that it had turned into a tormenting pain for her.

_"Ethan doesn't love you. He wants to hurt you. He wants to kill you so he can go with Lucy. All his past decisions were wrong. He has seen that now. Kill them both! They don't deserve to live!"_ an evil sounding version of her own voice was echoing in her thoughts.

"I won't do it! I won't hurt my friends! No!" she screamed as she struggled to regain control of her flying.

_"You have to! You want to stay alive? Then destroy them!"_

"No! I would rather die!"

_"Then die you shall Kara... die you shall!"_ she felt as if her brain was going to explode.

She held her temples as she tried to stay conscious. Closing her eyes and standing up in mid-flight, she began grasping and pulling on her long blond locks in an effort to relieve the pressure that threatened to tear her apart.

Trying to regain control of her senses, Kara pushed herself to remember when she first started feeling this way. When did the voices start? After she had grabbed the gemstone on the ring. After the rash that now covered and reached up to the middle of her arm appeared. The ring had something to do with it. Taking hold of the object on her finger, she poured all her effort into taking it off. She spun into aerial cartwheels in an effort to force it off but nothing happened.

Hurling through the sky while battling the pain, Kara wished there were some kryptonite on hand that she could stab herself with in order to end her suffering. Maybe Kal-El, Ethan, and everyone else would be better off without having to constantly worry about her after all.

Weakened by the mental anguish,she could not steer herself out of the thunderstorm forming above the clouds. Flying directly into the path of a thunder strike, she was hit square on the back, knocking her unconscious body out of the sky.

**********

They had slept in shifts, taking turns watering the Virtus seeds every 3 hours while it sat over a flaming charcoal pot. The instructions were clear, they had to plant the seeds together with the amulet that they were going to use to make Kara face her pain. It was difficult to awaken every 3 hours even though Clark kept the coffee coming and insisted that he did not need any sleep. Such was the schedule that they would have to keep for the next 24 hours if they were to have a prayer of saving Kara from herself.

The clock struck 9 AM. Clark excused himself to go back to the school to formally get the girls excused from school for a few days. He would worry about dealing with the Lane's later. The important thing now was to get everything ready for the battle that lay ahead of them.

Jimmy was just about to knock on the door when Clark opened it. "Lois asked me to come over with breakfast."

"They need that more than I do." Clark said showing Jimmy in.

"Could you hang around and lend them a hand till I get back? I have to go to the school for a bit." he requested Jimmy who was setting the food down on a table before the sleeping pair of friends.

"No problem. I called in sick with Perry today."

"Thanks. Oh, wake up those two in an hour. Have them show you what to do." Clark instructed loudly as he walked towards the door.

**********

Ethan left Lucy and Jimmy to tend to the plants. He was going through Linda's dresser drawers looking for her small box of memories. In order to make the plant flourish at exactly noon, the spell called for the crushing of the person's childhood hair into the soil. After which the plant would grow to full size and blossom in a few moments. The effect would help the afflicted remember the past and offer a glimpse into the future.

"Got it!" he said triumphantly when he found the S-emblem bearing box at the bottom of her shirt drawer. Now the problem was how to open it. It would only open up for Kara as far as he could tell. He remembered that she had to touch the palm of her hand to the outline on top of the box before it would open to full size and reveal its contents.

"One problem down." he announced dropping the box in front of Lucy at the dining table. Jimmy was feeding more coal bricks into the stove while Linda showered the soil with more water. There was a green bulb beginning to show above the dark potting soil. He glanced at his watch. They had 2 more hours to go.

"Jimmy, pass me that piece of paper." Lucy told him indicating the instruction sheet from Nigel that was being held down by the coffee pot.

Reading the rest of the instructions, Lucy decided that she and Jimmy would have to leave Ethan to keep up the watering of the seed and feeding the flame so that they could get the necessary _"fresh water from a source that has not passed through a water pipe."_ That closest source would be the Midvale Lake.

"Take the box with you. If you see Linda, figure out a way to get her to touch the box and come back here as soon as you can."

"Why does it have to be here childhood hair! I really doubt that Linda would be willing to touch this for me right now." Lucy complained.

"Well if Clark could do it, we would not need to have Linda would we?" Ethan was being sarcastic.

"Whatever." Lucy snatched the box from him.

"I just have this gut feeling that Linda is out there watching us." Ethan explained.

**********

Kara had fallen face first onto the ground near Midvale Lake. The sounds she heard as she came to scared her. She opened her eyes and saw a huge rat in front of her trying to nibble on the ring. She drew herself upright and ran. When she looked back again, a gray furry rabbit was sitting where she had seen the rat.

"I am going crazy! I need help! " Kara cried out. Almost immediately, the voices were back. Hearing familiar voices by the edge of the forest, she peeked from within the bushes and saw Lucy scooping up water with Jimmy holding the water jug open.

_"Now is your chance Kara. Tell Jimmy. He needs to know."_ the voice coming from the recesses of her mind prodded.

"No! You are wrong!" she shouted loudy, catching the attention of the pair.

"That was Linda." Jimmy said. The voice was even louder now. Who was Linda arguing with?

"We've got to help her." Lucy said without a second thought. Dropping the dipper, she pulled Jimmy towards where they heart the voice.

"Give me the box.' she told him.

Kara was locked in a battle with herself. She saw a shadowy image suddenly attack her as she tried to shake the voices out of her head. The entity held her neck in a lock. Strangling her as tightly as possible. Kara was trying to fight it off. Rolling all over the ground and slamming into the trees.

What Jimmy and Lucy saw proved to them that the psychosis was getting worse. Linda was strangling herself with her own bear hands. Lucy reached her first and pried Kara's hands off while Jimmy tried to hold her down.

"Lucy! Help! I don't know what's wrong with me!" she cried out in a moment of sanity.

"Kara! Stay with us Kara!" Lucy cried out as she watched her friend's eyes roll within its sockets. Jimmy continued to hold her down as best as he could while her body convulsed.

Her attitude had changed completely by the time the convulsions were over. Her eyes looked like she had not slept in weeks, clothes were soaked with sweat even though she did not normally wet her clothes due to her different metabolism. She opened her eyes and laughed diabolically at them.

"Do you really think you can hold me down Jimmy?" She held his leg nearest to her and shoved him backwards. The impact of his body on the tree sent chunks of tree bark flying through the air. He writhed in pain. His spine had hit with such tremendous force that he felt like his back had broken in at least 3 places.

"Did you know that Lucy was cheating on you Jimmy?" she told him while he reeled from the impact.

"Kara, I never did anything of the sort!" Lucy defended herself while she ran to Jimmy's side to tend to him.

"Oh no? I saw you with Ethan. You were kissing him! And what about the card he gave you?" She came over and picked up Lucy with one hand by her throat so that she could not answer. Tossing her aside, she slammed into a boulder that was sticking out of the ground. Lucy felt the ligaments in her arm tear. She screamed in burning pain. Linda was walking towards her. Ready to hurl her once again.

This was her chance. Holding the box upright in front of her, she grabbed Linda's hand before it could touch her and slammed it onto the box. It reacted instantaneously.

"What did you do?" Kara asked in surprise, totally not recognizing her heritage box. Feeling a sudden rush of fear she turned and kicked upwards to fly away from them.

"Kara, where are you going?" Lucy wanted nothing more than to stop her friend from running.

"To find Kryptonite and be with my parents!" Kara shouted as she disappeared with a sonic boom.

"We need to get to the hospital." Jimmy was panting his words in weakness.

"First, we need to get these things to Clark and Ethan." Lucy said holding onto her injured arm as she tried to get up.

**********

Clark flew the injured to the hospital and returned to see Ethan almost finished with the preparations for the potion and amulet.

The seed came to full bloom as he watered it at exactly noon. The yellowish brown blossom had the petals of a daisy formed like a rose blossom. The green gel like center held the pollens that he was to mix with the washing of the charcoal ashes and drink in order to gain the equivalent of super human strength.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this? I think you forgot to read the fine print" Clark asked him.

Ethan took the instructions from him and read the bottom of the page.

_"The power will last only 2 hours. If you fail to subdue the inner demon of the possessed at the end of 2 hours, the elixir shall turn into a poison within you. Releasing your own inner demon to feed upon your soul resulting in a slow and painful death."_

He could die. Was he willing to die to save Kara? There was no doubt in his mind as to the answer. Yes.

"Here goes nothing." Ethan said putting the smoking glass to his lips. It tasted like cigarette ashes. He almost threw up the first few gulps of the tonic. He will never be able to explain how he was able to hold down the full glass.

"Do you feel anything?" Clark asked him.

"Nothing." Ethan replied sadly. He had failed.

"Maybe it just takes a little time." Clark said trying to pacify him.

"Kara doesn't have time! I have to save her! She is all I have Clark! She is my family and my life!" Ethan punched the table top and broke it in half. A look of shock crossed his face.

"Oh yeah, I think you are super now." Clark patted him on the shoulder.

"Now you go to the backyard and learn how to control that power and make it fast. Let me work on the amulet."

"I already worked on that while you took them to the hospital. Let's not waste time Clark." Ethan pleaded. He produced the necklace he had given Kara for her birthday from his back pants pocket.

"Alright. Are you ready to take flight?" Clark was amazed at the bravado that Ethan was displaying.

Ethan headed to the backdoor and opened it. "After you Superman."

**********

Nothing could compare to the feeling Ethan had while he soared through the skies with Superman. So this was how it felt to take flight. He felt so free and happy up in the clouds. It was no wonder that Kara loved to fly every chance she got.

He wondered how strange he looked wearing his everyday clothes next to a Superman. They were flying high enough not to be seen by the townsfolk because there would be no way to explain how the town gardener was able to fly like Superman.

"Where do we look for her?" he asked Superman.

"Lucy said Kara told her she was going to find green Kryptonite so she can be with Zor-El and Alura. There is only one place she might be able to find that."

"The farm. She is going to dig up the earth to look for Kryptonite." Ethan replied grimly.


	15. The Strength Of 2 Kryptonian Men

**DISCLAIMER:** Characters in this story remain the property of DC Comics, Inc. Movie copyrights and trademarks are owned by Alexander & Ilya Salkind, Warner Bros. Pictures, and TriStar Pictures. The story contained herein is meant only for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from the story. No infringement is intended. I offer this fan fiction as a tribute to the creative teams involved in the actual production of both the movie and comic. However, I reserve the right to any original characters I create for the purpose of fan fiction story telling.

**The Strength Of 2 Kryptonian Men**

As the two men flew over the Midvale sky, Ethan made a request of Kal-El.

"Let me handle Kara. I know I can get through to her without hurting her."

"The problem is not our hurting her Ethan. The problem is her hurting herself. I will back off and let you handle her when you think it is time." Kal-El assured him.

There was no mistaking that Kara was burrowing deep into the farmland as Kal-El and Ethan approached. The soil that the cousins has so carefully laid back into the ground after burying her ship was now billowing upward like a tornado as she sped in circles underground trying to find any sign of Kryptonite that had attached to the ship or perhaps been strewn into the soil when she crashed.

Kal-El signaled Ethan to wait for him. He would fly into the hole and force Kara out. Ethan could then grab her and try to help her regain control of her senses. Flying headlong into her, Kara threw a punch that sent him reeling out of the hole.

"She is insanely strong. I don't think she had found the kryptonite yet. I am going back in. " he warned Ethan.

"Kal-El, please, make the voices stop! It's telling me hurt you!" she cried out when she saw her cousin coming towards her as she flew out of the crater. She was slipping in and out of sanity at this point and was only being held together by her will power to stay in the realm of reality.

"Fight it! Clear your mind Kara! Let us help you Kara. Don't fight us! We can help you!"

"I want you to help me. But the voices won't stop!" she flew away from him and directly into an oak tree. She broke the tree in half when her head hit the trunk. She wanted to injure herself badly to make the voices stop. Where was that Kryptonite? Bang-Or told her it would scatter over Earth after Argo City burst from the destruction of the Omegahedron. It was the only way to end her suffering.

Landing on an undug part of land, she fell to her knees and began speed digging into the soft soil.

"Kara stop it!" Kal-El tried to pull her away from the area. If she found the Kryptonite, all would be lost.

She started to feel weakness. "I found it!" she exclaimed, slowing down as she neared the toxic stone.

Kal-El fell to his knees as the greenish glow began to surface.

"Kara, stop!" he begged her as he slumped beside her.

Ethan recognized the sign of Kryptonite poisoning and immediately flew down to aid them. The elixir he had drank did not actually make him Kryptonian although it mimicked their powers. Exposure to Kryptonite would have no effect on him.

"Drop the crystal Kara!" he hollered at her as he landed nearby.

"Ethan, please, let me go! I don't deserve to be here. I don't deserve your love. I know you don't love me. I don't want your pity." Kara pleaded with him as she raised the crystal above her head.

"Kara, listen to yourself. Nothing you are saying is true. It is the ring that I gave you. Let me help you. Let me take it off."

"No! This is the only memory I will have of you after I take Kal-El with me back home to Argo City." she started shivering, a sign that she was going to start having seizures soon.

"Kara...We can't go back. There is no going back. Argo City has been destroyed. Earth is our home now." Kal-El tried to speak weakly.

"That's not true Kal-El. Together, we can find another portal home. Argo City is not destroyed. Mother and father are waiting for us." Kara held the rough blade like side of the crystal to her wrist.

These delusions were part of the final stages of Kryptonian psychosis according to Jor-El. There was not much time left. Alarms from Ethan's watch filled the air. It had been an hour since they first landed here. He would be losing his powers at an accelerated rate very soon.

"Kara, don't leave me. Don't you remember? I am your home. My heart is your home. You don't need to go back to Argo City." he slowly inched his way closer to her. He would have to lunge for the Kryptonite before she slit her wrists.

"We were never in love Ethan. We don't even know each other was all just an illusion." She pressed the edge against her wrist.

"Kara, don't be a fool. Earth can be your home if you choose to accept it." Kal-El tried to reason with her. His chest was starting to feel heavy. Breathing was becoming difficult for him. What was Ethan waiting for?

"You don't understand! I don't deserve to live. I allowed my parents to die! I did not even try to stop the explosion! I did not try hard enough to convince them to leave with me!" the pain of guilt and suffering could not be masked in her voice.

_"Just keep talking Kara, I need you to recognize your inner agony." _Ethan thought to himself.

He looked at Kal-El who was trying to crawl away from the Kryptonite. Nodding at Kal-el, his message was clear, he would take over from that point.

"I destroyed my own people! I caused their death! All because I was careless with the Omegahedron! It is not fair that they should die and I shall continue to live."

He tried to ignore the almost regular beeps from his watch that signaled the impending end of the elixir effectivity. But he needed to let her talk so he could get near her and that took time.

Ethan preempted her from dragging the blade across her wrist. Lungin for her, he grabbed her hand with his own and enclosed her in a vise-like grip with his other arm. Flying upward, he slammed her hand against her side until she let go of the Kryptonite. He caught it and hurled it as far away as possible from the farm. Giving Kal-El some time to recover and join him in subduing Kara.

"Let me die Ethan! Let me go home! My parents are waiting for me!" she kept shouting as she tried to break free from his embrace.

"Linda! Kara! I won't let you die like this! We've come too far. You have to live, live for me because I would be better off dead without you! I am nothing without you!" He kissed her on the cheeks as his alarm went off again. He had 10 minutes left with which he could either save her life or meet his death.

"I should have died with them. I have to pay for my sins Ethan. Please! The voices are right. Nothing good will ever come of my life because I have killed by my own hands. My death is the only atonement." she began to cry. She was willing him to let her go. This was the only way she would be able to see the parents she ruefully missed.

She was beginning to drift in and out of consciousness as they hovered in the skies that were now turning red as the sun began to set.

"It wasn't your fault Kara. You could not have stopped those things from happening. " he tried to hold her steady as he reached into his back pocket for the necklace.

She continued to struggle as he tried to press the gemstone pendant hard against her temple. He was breathing hard and feeling his power beginning to drain as he recited the spell that would cast her inner demons out.

_" Behold this woman suffering from unspeakable pain._  
_Her days and nights are filled with nightmares of days and lives past._  
_Take all that troubles her._  
_Banish her pain and guilt._  
_These have no place within her now mended heart._  
_In its stead, show her the future bright._"

A blinding glow began to seep through the sides of the pendant. He felt her stiffen in his arms. Her face registered immense anguish. Eyes shut tightly, a soundless scream emanated from her lips. Her breathing seemed to have been cut off.

Within the subconscious mind of Kara, she began to see everything clearly now. Everything happened for a reason. This was her destiny. One that her parents had no bitterness about. They helped her survive in order to help Kal-El. Kal-El needed family just as much as she did. She saw them flying side by side across the Midvale sky as they worked to protect those who needed it most. But there was something else. A vision of the future. A future that was filled with love, hope, and a happy home. As a smile appeared on her face, 2 things happened. The light from the pendant began to subside and the Silver Kryptonite ring slipped off her finger. Falling into the crater that she had created earlier.

Ethan slumped over her shoulder as his powers drained away. He felt a searing heat emanating from within him. The elixir was now turning into poison. He blacked out but still kept a tight grip on her. The two unconscious bodies were now free-falling in the sky. Kal-El, barely recovered from the effects of Kryptonite flew as fast as he could towards them.

"Kara! You must wake up! Kara! Kara-El!" Kal-El shouted into her ear.

She awoke with a start. "Oh my god! Ethan! Wake up Ethan ! Kal-El, what happened?"

Kara was just realizing that she was wrapped securely in Ethan's arms. How did he get her up there? She did not recall flying them up. What was Kal-El doing there? Breaking free of his grip, she manouvered his body so that he ended up lying on her back as they flew to safety.

Kal-El knew that Ethan was going to die if he did not move fast. Ordering Kara to drop Ethan's body, he flew down alongside it. Freezing the body with his super-breath in the process. Maybe, just maybe it would stop the spread of the toxins within his system until they could figure out how to render the elixir harmless within his system.


	16. Making Amends

**DISCLAIMER:** Characters in this story remain the property of DC Comics, Inc. Movie copyrights and trademarks are owned by Alexander & Ilya Salkind, Warner Bros. Pictures, and TriStar Pictures. The story contained herein is meant only for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from the story. No infringement is intended. I offer this fan fiction as a tribute to the creative teams involved in the actual production of both the movie and comic. However, I reserve the right to any original characters I create for the purpose of fan fiction story telling.

**Making Amends**

"No! Ethan is not dead! It can't be!" Kara cried upon learning of what had happened. She could not remember anything beyond showing Lucy the ring in the dorm room. Ethan's body lay in the fortress of solitude, unmoving and seemingly lifeless.

"Kal-El, help me! You told me before, you turned back time for Lois, you saved her life! Tell me how to do it." she beseeched him.

_"Neither of you must interfere with the human ways. Death must never be prevented."_ Jor-El's voice warned them.

"Father, she loves him." Kal-El pleaded for permission to tell her the secret to turning back time.

_"No Kal-El. Do not disobey me. You already altered the future when you saved Lois. It must never happen again."_

Kara was visibly devasted. She had injured her friends so badly that they were confined in the hospital and now this. Ethan could not be dead! She refused to accept that he had given his own life for her. This was not what she saw in her vision!

"He does not look dead Kal-El. I cold swear he was just sleeping." she told him when he came over and put a hand on her shoulder. She had his body cradled in her lap while she touched his hair.

"Maybe he isn't dead Kara. I did something when I told you to drop his body. I put him in the Kryptonian equivalent of a cryogenic freeze." Kal-El told her.

She looked up hopefully at him. "You mean he is just sleeping?"

"Maybe. I can't be sure what the status of the elixir was when I froze him."

"How do we find out?"

"Heat vision. Thaw him out Kara. But be careful. The heat should be strong enough to render the poison in his system non toxic after being frozen for so long. But, you should not use so much heat that you burn his internal organs as well. Too much heat and he dies. Too little heat and he dies. It is a tricky procedure." he explained to her.

Kal-El lay Ethan out on an ice slab and positioned Kara at his feet.

"This will work Kara." He encouraged her.

"It will work." She suddenly sounded and felt hopeful. She remembered what she had seen in her mind earlier.

"Why do you know?"

"Because Kal-El, I've seen my future." she replied as she unleashed her heat vision on Ethan. Starting at his head going down to his toes.

**********

There was still no movement from Ethan even after he had been thawed out. She sat beside him, holding his hand and willing him to awaken. She could hear his heart beating. The procedure had worked afterall. But he seemed to be in a comatose state. All she needed was for his big brown eyes to open up and smile at her. She held his hands tightly in hers.

Kal-El had gone into his healing chamber in order to get over the effects of the Kryptonite exposure and left her to tend to her unconscious boyfriend. He saw her lay her head down over her arms. She too was exhausted from what had happened to her and needed to rest. But she did not want to leave Ethan's side. She wanted to be right there when he woke up.

Hours had passed and the lovers remained asleep. Kal-El had flown out to get food in case Ethan woke up. He was sure to be famished. So there was nobody to notice when his eyelids began to flutter. He felt cold instead of heat. Was he in heaven? Glancing around, he recognized the fortress. He couldn't move his hands. Looking down he saw Kara pinning his hands underneath her head.

"Kara?" He whispered weakly as he tried to move his hands from under her.

Was she dreaming? She thought she heard Ethan's voice.

"Kara, wake up." There is was again.

Slowly opening her eyes, she lifted her head and saw his brown eyes smiling lovingly at her.

"Ethan!" she yelled. Her fingers impulsively touched and traced his lips with an urgent need.

"Ethan! I love you! I don't know what happened! I don't know what to say to make up for you risking your own life for me" she began stammering.

"It was all my fault Kara. The ring, it was Silver Kryptonite..." he explained as he slowly got up from the ice slab.

"I know. Kal-El explained it all to me." she replied while pulling him in for a passionate embrace.

"Ethan! You are awake! It worked afterall! ." Kal-El had just flown back in with an armload of burgers for them.

Jor-el's voice interrupted their merry making.

"_You have both defied fate for your personal reasons. It should never be done. Both of you do not understand what the repercussions of your actions are. You have unleashed the unknown upon yourselves." _he warned.

"Oh father, for once in your after life can't you just be happy for everyone here?" Kal-El asked jokingly.

"_Happiness is a fleeting experience my son. You have both chosen to become human to an extent. All your actions will have sad repercussions in the future. There is a now a danger to both of you that Zor-El, Allura, your mother, and I never foresaw nor took into consideration when we all decided that the Earth would be the best place to send the last two of the Kryptonians." _Jor-El seemed to be relaying a cryptic message to Kara and Ka-El that fell upon deaf ears.

**********

They visited Lucy and Jimmy in the hospital a few days later. Linda was hesitant to visit after being told of everything she had put them through during her psychosis. She could not even work up the nerve to speak to the Lane's who had been so kind to her in the past.

"Ethan, tell her to come in. She can't hide from us forever." Lucy told Ethan when he had told her that Linda was waiting outside the door. Afraid of what her best friend might say or do to her.

"She won't come in Lucy. You know her."

"I know she can hear me. If she doesn't come in here, I am taking this cast and IV trolley and going out to her." Lucy threatened.

The door broke open and the familiar face of her best friend showed up. Unable to look directly at the people in the room.

"I can't Lucy. Not after I banged you and Jimmy up real bad."

"That wasn't you Linda. We understand what happened. Don't we Jimmy?" Lucy asked Jimmy who was in the next bed. They had a semi-private room.

"But the injuries..."

"Will heal. And our friendship will never change. This just made our gang stronger." Jimmy finished Linda's sentence for her.

"Now get in here girl!" Lucy demanded with a soft giggle.


	17. Embracing The Future

**DISCLAIMER:** Characters in this story remain the property of DC Comics, Inc. Movie copyrights and trademarks are owned by Alexander & Ilya Salkind, Warner Bros. Pictures, and TriStar Pictures. The story contained herein is meant only for personal enjoyment and no money is being made from the story. No infringement is intended. I offer this fan fiction as a tribute to the creative teams involved in the actual production of both the movie and comic. However, I reserve the right to any original characters I create for the purpose of fan fiction story telling.

**Embracing The Future**

Graduation day had finally come. All the girls were busy getting ready and packing up their things in the dorms. Everyone was bursting with excitement and looking forward to attending college in the Fall. Everyone that is, except Linda.

As Kara, she spent her recovery time at the Fortress of Solitude under Kal-El's watchful eye. When she gained enough strength back, she, as Linda, went and stayed with Clark at his apartment for the rest of her senior term.

Not once during all that time did she ever go back to the home she once shared with Ethan. Taking Clark's advice to heart, she fought the urge to go to Ethan even when she saw him on campus. Something that tore her apart because she had reassured him of her love at the fortress before. Somehow, Ethan seemed to understand her need to stay away even without her saying a word. They were on amicable terms, greeting each other when they crossed paths, even waving at each other when they were too far apart to say hello.

The length of time that it took for graduation day to arrive seemed so long to Linda. What if, during all the time that he had honored the space she asked for, he had fallen out of love with her? Could she handle that? What if her future did not lie with him afterall? What if her vision was only what she wanted to see, but was not the reality of her future?

"Just enjoy the day will you Linda? Don't rain on our parade. We have all worked really hard to get here." Lucy encouraged her as they checked each other's turqoise toga outfits.

"But what if he did fall out of love?" Linda asked worriedly as she brushed off her friends shoulder.

"Then you will grieve a little but life will go on. Ethan will not be the end of your world Linda" Lucy reassured her.

_"All seniors report to the main quadrangle. The graduation march will start in 15 minutes."_ Came the voice of Principal Danvers over the sound system.

"Grab our caps and let's get outta here!" Lucy instructed Linda.

Ethan watched from a distance as he continued to prune the bushes near the quadrangle. How he wished that he could be a part of Linda's big day. He was staying away for a reason and he could only hope that she understood how much it hurt him to pretend to be a mere friend to her. How hurt he was that he could not be there with Clark and the Lane's in the audience to watch her receive her diploma.

As if she sensed that Ethan was nearby, Linda suddenly turned and looked in his direction. He knew that she could see him clearly and that she would hear him if he spoke.

_"Congratulations Linda. You have come very far. I am sure your parents are very proud of the woman you have become.I know that I am very proud of the woman whom I love with all of my being."_ he whispered in no particular direction.

The smile that she threw his way was enough to make him feel like he had actually participated in her graduation festivities. He had no idea about the life altering surprise Linda had in store for him.

This was Linda's first visit to the Daily Planet office. Jimmy wasn't around and somehow she ended up conversing with the Editor in Chief while waiting for Clark to come back to his desk.

"Clark, some kid looking for you. Calls herself Linda. Says she is is your cousin." Perry White ducked into the copy room where he was running drafts of his report.

"Yes she is. Thanks Perry. I'll be there in a bit." Clark replied.

_"Never thought he had family. Never spoke about parents or anything. This Kent is really a strange one. Cousin my foot. Looks more like his daughter to me.""_ Perry was mumbling under his breath.

Clark chuckled at what he heard through his super hearing. Maybe he did look like Linda's father. After all he had been through to save her and protect her, from death, Selena, and now psychosis, he did have a sort of fatherly feeling for her.

"If you are sure that is what you want to do and be, you have my full support" he told her as she explained her detailed plans for her future life. Clark could tell that she had given the matter a lot of thought and somehow, he believed that she had found a way to glimpse into her future.

"In a way Clark, Earth has always been my home like you said. It has always treated me well and provided for me. It gave me the most important people in my life when I thought I would be all alone or dead. I can learn to become human without abandoning who I really am. Kara and Linda can live alongside each other. Kara is my heritage but Linda is who I am now. With your guidance, I know that I will eventually learn how to continue to be both human and Kryptonian. My future has always been bright. I just refused to see it." She told him as they walked together out of his office.

Clark put her in a cab and waved her off. He looked in her direction long after the cab had disappeared form human view. She was headed into a future that only she knew about and understood, and he would always be right beside her with unwavering support.

**********

Ethan could never get used to living in the house alone. Linda went home to Clark's apartment after resting at the fortress. Without her in the house, it was simply too big for him. Every nook and cranny of the house held a special, now painful memory for him. She had kept her distance from him during the graduation party Clark had thrown for her. He would have to accept that everything had changed between them now. It would never be the same again.

He was about to go up to bed when he heard some rustling noise at the front door. Hearing the door unlock, he opened the hallway closet and got his baseball bat. He swung the bat the minute the door opened.

"Ethan! It's me!" Linda caught the bat in midswing. Crushing the wooden rod like a hard boiled egg in its shell.

"Linda! What are you doing here?" he felt a sudden rush of happiness.

Linda was vacationing with the Lane's as far as he knew. Just until her college studies began in the fall.

"I need to talk to you." she had a note of uncertainty in her voice.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he followed her into the living area.

"Can I move back in?" she asked with the fear of a negative answer visible on her face.

"You know you can." he beamed at her.

She smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "I'll move back in as soon as I can. There is just one thing."

"What's that? All your stuff are still in your room."

"I don't want separate rooms anymore." she was shaking in nervousness while she spoke. Deep inside, she knew she was ready. This was the right thing for her to do.

What? Was he hearing right?

"Clark would tear me limb from limb if I allowed you to do that." he could already imagine Clark going into superman mode if he caught them doing a horizontal dance in bed.

"He knows my plans." Linda teased Ethan.

"Plans?" His interest was teased. Exactly what was she leading up to?

"Ethan, a wise woman once told me that I know I am ready for marriage when I can't see my future without you beside me."

"And?" he was waiting for the rest of her story with baited breath.

"And ---I've come to realize that I can be everything I want to be. I can achieve everything I ever dreamed of but, I won't be able to do it alone. I won't be happy. I won't be a complete person without you by my side."

"So....?"

"So, Mr. Logan, I'm asking you to take me back. As your best friend, your girlfriend, your lover, and your wife. Will you have me?" She was still wondering if it was normal for Earth girls to propose marriage but decided that since he proposed first, she should not expect him to do it again.

She had looked away from him in embarrassment. Her cheeks were flushed from the anticipation she felt for the answer to her question. What if he said no? What if she had totally blown her chances to win him back ? What would she do without his love to guide and support her?

"Kara, look at me." he touched her chin and guided her face back so that she faced him. His eyes were filled with happiness and love. Using his thumb, he lightly traced her soft lower lip ever so slowly so that she took slow deep breaths while sighing in rhythm to his motions. The answer was clear as he held her face up to his so that their lips met once again.

The electricity they both felt within the kiss told them both what they already knew but needed to confirm. Ethan would never leave her. Their hearts will always be one and at home within each others souls. Kara's heart was now finally home and would never be separated from Ethan again.

When they finally parted, Ethan could not bear to let her leave the house again.

"Spend the night in your room? Don't leave me tonight. " he practically begged her as he buried his face into her neck. Taking in the scent of the woman he had missed for so many days and nights.

"Make sure you don't sleepwalk." she reminded him as their lips came together for another deep kiss.

**********

The civil ceremony was held at City Hall with their closest friends and family in attendance. They made for a small group. Just the Lane's and Clark with Jimmy along. For safety purposes, the rings ran through Kal-El's Kryptonite scanner before the wedding.

The bellboy helped them get their things into their honeymoon suite at the Metropolis Hotel that night. Ethan did not even try to carry Linda over the threshold. The bellboy had a questioning look on his face as he and Linda walked into the room hand in hand.

"I have a bad back." Ethan lied as he handed the bellboy his tip and sent him on his way, closing the door behind him.

"You have a bad back?" Linda pushed him onto the bed and jumped on beside him.

"Oh yeah, it really hurts." he kissed her softly while he leaned over her and reached to turn off the main light control switch. Linda was already messing with his shirt buttons at the same time.

The desires that they controlled within for each other over the years they were separated first by location and then by differing social traditions burst forth like a tidal wave. They acted upon their urge to unite their bodies and souls in the ultimate act of love and possession. The starlit night glimmering just outside their window bore witness to the explosion and satisfaction of the desires that bound them in life and in love.

**Acknowledgements:** Many thanks to **Amy and Dean** for their unwavering support, story ideas, and helping me with the necessary research material for the story. This fan fiction would not have been completed without you guys :-)

**A/N: The Legacy Continues** soon ;-)


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